THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KIIMAOT: 


BEING   A 


WITH  NOTICES  OF  ROBERT  EDIE. 


BY 

THE  REV.  JOHN  BAILLIE, 

AUTHOR  OP   "memoir   OF   RKT.  W.   H.  HEWITSON." 


"  His  lat)or8  have  been  more  blest  than  those  of  any  man  I  know. 
I  have  had  many  a  precious  letter  from  him."— Dr.  Chalmers. 


NEW   YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    &    BROTHERS, 

No.    285    BROADWAY. 

1854. 


,\  ..; 


€anttvitn. 


FAOS 

Prkfatort  Notices    .*•••••     ix-zi 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Starting  Point— The  Two  Converts— The  Plantation— Early 
Life— Education— Kilmany—"  The  Shepherd"— The  Weekly  Holi- 
day— The  Loom — Aspirations — Foster—"  Like  a  Foreigner  in  the 
Place"— Illness — Parish  Manse,  and  Pulpit— The  Preacher  a  New 
Man— Dr.  Chalmers  and  Alexander  Paterson,  First  Meeting — 
Manse  Study— The  Parish  Newsmonger  and  the  Awakened  Sinner 
— The  Two  Anxious  Inquirers— Night  Colloquies — Peace  in  Be- 
licAing- Dedication  to  the  Lord— The  "  Trysting-Tree"        .       .    11 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Lighted  Candle— George  Herbert— The  "  Bothy"— The  Ballad- 
Singer— The  Ballads  Burned— The  Songs  of  David— Parallel— The 
Vaudois— Rustic  Picture— Scottish  Peasantry— The  Moonlight 
Readings — Meetings— The  Talisman — "Where  were  his  Orders?" 
—John  Wesley— Sabbath  Class— Fruits— The  Brotherhood    ,       .    ST 


J 


iv  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PAOE 

Dr.  Chalmers'  Removal  to  Glasgow— The  Kilmany  Correspond- 
ence—The "Obscure  Peasant"— The  Fellowship-Meeting— The 
"Bethel"— The  "SaltrPans"  ...  ...    39 


CHAPTER  lY. 

The  Faithful  Servant— "  Allowable  Purloining"— "  Not  with  Eye- 
Service" — Illness — The  Cup  of  Cold  Water — Evangelistic  Labors 
— A  New  Field— The  Conference- The  Reluctant  Assent — Gradu- 
ate in  School  of  Christ— The  "Stricken  Deer"— " Wholly  to 
Prayer," 83 


CHAPTER    V. 

Home  Heathenism— The  Arve  and  the  Rhone — The  Masses  and  the 
Churches— Edinburgh — The  Canongate— Its  Hovels— Prostitutes 
broken  down  under  the  Word — Crowded  Meetings — The  Widow 
— Her  Testimony— A  Young  W^oman— "  Who  has  told  you  about 
me?" — Her  Death-bed  Triumph— "The  Master-spring" — Cecil — 
"A  Dead  Fish,"  and  "a  Living  One" — Another  Convert— " Can- 
not live  without  Prayer" — Many  Inquirers— "Tears  in  their  eyes"     94 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Power  of  Sympathy— People's  Affection  for  him— Illness— The  Con- 
verted Drunkard—"  Wept  like  a  Child"— Triumphant  Death— The 
Strait  Gate — Piercing  Sense  of  Sin — Example — The  Formalist — 
Taken  away  in  her  Sins — Afflictions—"  Merciful  Visits" — "  Trade 
for  Christ" — Meetings— The  Fortune-teller— Trophy  of  Grace — 
Lay-Preaching— Secret  of  its  Power — Freshness  of  First  Truths,  not 
low  Familiarity— Moses  on  the  Hill — Joshua  in  the  Plain       .       .  117 


CONTENTS.  ▼ 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGI 

*♦  HearUleep"— The  Awakened— Rest  in  Christ— The  Death-bed 
Triumph— Another  Inquirer— The  Wet  Bible— The  "Awfdl 
Night"— The  Crimson-dyed  Sinner— The  Change— The  Lesson — 
Dr.  Chalmers — Tears  of  Joy — The  Prayer— The  Converted  Papist — 
Dexterity  in  Applying  of  Remedies— Closet  Teachings— Dr.  Chal- 
mers—The Chair—"  None  but  Christ"- The  Wynds- The  Stout- 
hearted—The Melting— The  "Christian  Look"— Vinet— " I  hare 
no  Love  to  Christ"— «  Must  not  I  first  Repent  ?"— The  "  Study  of 
Christ"— The  Furnace— "Not  Alone" 137 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Converted  Infidels, .  159 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Missionary's  Home— Sanctified  Afiections — His  Son— "Child 
of  many  Prayers"- Other  Homes— Manse  of  Logie— The  Savor 
of  the  Ointment — The  Secret  of  his  Usefulness — Christ's  "  Lore 
Visits"- The  Yorkshire  Shoemaker— His  Method  with  Souls- 
Mr.  Paterson's  Method — An  Example — Urgent  Dealing — A  Test — 
The  Success— Watching— The  Furnace 175 


CHAPTER  X. 

rhe  Pharisee— The  "Good  Heart"— "A  Quiet  Neighbor"— The 
Awakening— A  Living  Epistle— The  Blind  Schoolmaster-"  Light 
in  the  Lord"— The  Hovel—"  A  Father  to  me"— Tact  in  Admoni- 
tion—Another  Sheaf        195 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK  XL 

PAOB 

The  "  Trysting-Tree"  Revisited— Christian  and  Hopeful— Commu- 
nings—Deprivations— Dr.  Chalmers— A  New  Convert— The  Canon- 
gate— Mr.  Edie— Bereavement— Letter  from  Dr.  Chalmers — 
"  Praise  now" — Inward  Darkness — Death  of  Dr.  Chalmers — The 
The  Christian's  Hope— Kilmany 209 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Cholera  Patient — The  Missionary  on  the  Straw — Seized  with 
Cholera— Heavenly  Aspirations— The  Rod — Robert  Edie — Girded 
Loins — The  Lighted  Lamp — The  Prayer-Meeting — The  "  Transla- 
tion"— Alexander  Paterson  "  Behind" — Faint  yet  Pursuing — Last 
Visit— "This  is  Death"— "All  Settled"— Death-bed  Utterings— 
Departure — ^The  Ramah  Lament — The  Epitaph        .        .         .  236 


Appendix         .        .      ' .        .        .       ......  350 


The  following  brief  Memoir  was  undeataken  at 
the  instance  of  various  friends  (among  others,  the 
Bev.  Dr.  Hanna  and  James  Cunningham,  Esq., 
Edinburgh),  who  were  anxious  that  the  life  and 
labors  of  such  a  man  should  not  pass  unrecorded. 
The  Author — not  without  some  misgiving — has 
made  the  attempt.  May  the  Lord  crown  it  with 
His  blessing ! 

March  15,  1853. 


PREFATORY  NOTE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

The  Author  has  satisfaction  in  acknowledging 
the  very  cordial  welcome  which  the  ''  Missionary  of 
Kilmany"  has  received.  Among  other  testimonies 
which  have  reached  him,  he  cannot  forbear  selecting 
a  single  example.  In  a  letter,  dated  "  London, 
April  4,  1853,"  and  quoted,  by  permission,  in  this 
place,  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  writes : — 

"  These  are  the  records  which  do  more  to  prove 
the  truth  of  Christianity  than  all  the  logic  and  all 
the  books  of  evidences  thrown  into  one. 

"  But  if  they  prove  the  truth  of  Christianity,  they 
prove  also  how  few  real  Christians  there  are ;  and 
how  the  best  and  purest  of  these  are  found  in  the 
humblest  and  the  poorest  walks  of  life.  It  puts  to 
shame  all  of  us  who   figure  away  in  public,  and 


at  NOTE  TO  SECOND   EDITION. 

obtain  some  praise,  aud  much  abuse,  in  the  part  we 
take.  Where  have  we,  in  '  conspicuous'  life,  any  one 
to  approach  the  physical  and  spiritual  labors  of 
this  humble  saint  ?  He  entered,  without  reserve, 
into  the  apostolical  counsel  to  '  avoid  foolish  ques- 
tions, and  genealogies,  and  contentions,  and  strivings 
about  the  law,'  and  adopted  the  determination  '  to 
know  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified !' 
Here  is  the  true  secret  of  the  ministerial  power, 
whether  it  be  in  the  palace  of  Caesar,  in  the  deserts 
of  Africa,  or  in  the  foul  dens  of  Glasgow  and  Lon- 
don. 

"  May  God,  in  His  mercy,  give  us  many  such ! 
They  are  '  the  salt  of  the  earth.' " 

These  are  weighty  words.  They  are  quoted,  not 
for  mere  empty  compliment,  but  in  the  hope  that 
others  may  be  stirred  up  to  imitate  the  pattern  of 
self-denying  labor  and  of  self-forgetting  zeal,  which 
those  paragraphs  so  vividly  describe. 

lit/i  April,  1853. 


THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Starting  Point— The  Two  Converts— The  Plantation— Early  Life- 
Education— Kilmany—"  The  Shepherd"— The  Weekly  Holiday— The 
Loom — Aspirations— Foster — "Like  a  Foreigner  in  the  Place" — Ill- 
ness—Parish Manse,  and  Pulpit— The  Preacher  a  New  Man— Dr. 
Chalmers  and  Alexander  Paterson,  First  Meeting — Manse  Study — 
The  Parish  Newsmonger  and  the  Awakened  Sinner— The  Two  Anx- 
ious Inquirers— Night  Colloquies— Peace  in  Believing- Dedication  to 
the  Lord— The  "  Trysting-Tree." 

"It  was  in  the  spring  of  1812,  and  the 
preacher's  text  was  John,  iii.  16, — '  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only-begot- 
ten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.' 
Two  young  men  heard  that  sermon,- — -the  one 
the  son  of  a  farmer  in  the  parish,  the  other 
the  son  of  one  of  the  villagers.    They  met  as 


12  THE   MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

the  congregation  dispersed ;  '  Did  you  feel  any- 
thing particularly  in  churcli  to-day  ?'  said 
Alexander  Paterson  to  liis  acquaintance  Eobert 
Edie,  as  they  found  themselves  alone  upon 
the  road.  '  I  never,'  he  continued,  '  felt  my- 
self to  be  a  lost  sinner  till  to-day,  when  I  was 
listening  to  that  sermon.'  '  It  is  very  strange,* 
said  his  companion ;  '  it  was  just  the  same 
with  me.'  They  were  near  a  plantation,  into 
which  they  wandered,  as  the  conversation  pro- 
ceeded. Hidden  at  last  from  all  human  sight, 
it  was  jDroposed  that  they  should  join  in 
prayer.  Both  dated  their  conversion  from 
that  day."* 

The  preacher  was  Thomas  Chalmers.  The 
two  converts  were  the  first  fruits  of  his  minis- 
try. The  humble  ploughman  who  that  day 
took  his  place  at  Christ's  feet,  was  to  be  hon- 
ored to  do  a  great  work  for  his  Lord.  "  From 
that  moment,"  was  the  remark  of  Dr.  Chalmers 
long  afterwards,  "it  emphatically  may  be  said 
of  him,  that  he  '  did  what  he  could ;'  his  la- 

*  Dr.  Hanna's  Memoii-a  of  Dr.  ChalmerB,  voL  i.  p.  429. 


BOYHOOD.  13: 

bors  have  been  more  blessed  tban  those  of  any 
man  I  know." 

Alexander  Paterson  was  born  at  Kilmany,, 
Fifeshire,  in  1790.  His  education  was  of  the 
most  limited  kind,  extending  over  one  or  two 
months  during  a  few  of  the  winters  of  his  early 
childhood.  As  he  grew  up  into  boyhood,  he 
was  employed  as  a  herd  on  the  farm  of  Mr.. 
Edie,  the  father  of  that  Eobert  Edie  who 
by-and-bye  was  to  become  his  bosom-friend. 
Naturally  of  a  bland  and  kindly  tempera- 
ment, he  occupied  his  leisure  hours  in  the 
fields  knitting  stockings  for  his  favorites  in  the 
village ;  and,  when  the  herding  was  over  for 
the  day,  he  might  be  seen  in  some  neighbor'& 
garden,  especially  in  the  little  plots  of  some 
aged  females,  digging,  or  raking,  or  planting,, 
as  earnestly  as  if  he  had  been  laboring  for 
hire.  The  genial  nature  which  thus  early 
manifested  itself,  was  to  open  for  him  in  after- 
years  many  a  door  to  the  hearts  of  the  aban.- 
doned  and  the  forlorn. 

2 


:14  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

In  Kilmany  there  lived  in  tliose  days  a 
"Tillage  oracle,  known  by  tlie  name  of  "  the 
'  Shepherd."  He  was  an  old  man  with  silvery 
locks, — a  relic  of  that  noble  peasantry  of  an- 
other age,  which  had  adorned  the  Scottish 
martyrology  with  many  a  lowly  confessor.  In 
the  winter  evenings,  he  used  to  gather  round 
him  a  little  circle  of  eager  listeners.  It  was 
noticed  that  in  that  circle  the  place  of  the 
yonng  herd  was  rarely  vacant.  "  What,"  was 
his  mother's  frequent  and  rather  impatient  in- 
quiry, ''  what  makes  you  go  so  much  to  the 
shepherd  ?"  "  The  shepherd,"  he  would  re- 
ply, "has.  a  better  head  than  any  of  you:  it 
would  be  telling  you  all  if  you  were  like 
"him, — ^he  can  repeat  the  Catechism  from  be- 
;  gianing  to  end  without  missing  a  word." 

Another  companionship  was  formed,  and  of 
:a  tenderer  kind.  There  was  attending,  in 
these  years,  at  a  school  in  Cupar,  a  frank, 
open-hearted  boy,  the  son  of  the  farmer  of 
Easter  Kilmany,  and  three  years  the  junior  of 
the  subject  of  our  Memoir.    As  each  Saturday 


BOYHOOD.  15 

returned,  there  miglit  be  observed,  on  the  road 
betwixt  Cupar  and  Rilmany,  two  lads  meeting 
each  other  with  a  right  joyous  welcome.  It 
was  Alexander  Paterson  and  Eobert  Edie,  en- 
tering on  the  happy  weekly  holiday.  The 
kindred  spirits  were  together :  that  was  itself 
the  holiday.  It  was  a  fellowship  of  hearts: 
the  soul  of  David  was  knit  to  the  soul  of  Jona- 
than. And  the  friendship  was  to  be  cemented 
by  a  holier  tie  than  the  tie  even  of  affection ; 
Hke  David's  and  Jonathan's  it  was  to  be  a  fel- 
lowship in  the  Lord. 

As  he  rose  into  manhood,  Alexander  took 
his  place  beside  his  father  at  the  loom.  There, 
as  in  every  work  he  undertook,  he  was  in 
earnest.  He  excelled,  we  are  informed,  all  his 
fellows  at  weaving,  both  as  to  the  amount  and 
the  quality  of  his  work.  It  is  told  of  the  great 
Foster — for  he  also  was  once  at  the  loom — • 
that  he  would  often  shut  himself  up  in  a 
neighboring  barn  for  a  considerable  time  to 
read,  and  then  come  out  and  weave  for  two  or 
three  hours,  "  working,"  as  an  eye-witness  ex- 


1^  THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

pressed  it,  ''like  a  horse."  Like  Foster,  tlie 
youtliful  weaver  of  Kilmany  was  often  missing 
from  his  shuttle.  On  these  occasions  he  was 
sure  to  be  found  in  a  neighboring  stackyard 
with  his  friend  of  the  farm,  reading,  out  of  a 
Diary,  lines  of  poetry  and  striking  sentences, 
which  he  had  culled  from  the  well-thumbed 
volumes  which  composed  his  humble  library. 

Foster  abandoned  the  loom,  because  he  felt 
"like  a  foreigner  in  that  place;"' — God  had 
other  work  for  him,  and  He  took  him  else- 
where. For  Alexander  Paterson,  also,  God 
had  other  work ;  and,  leading  him  by  a  way 
which  he  knew  not,  He  carried  forward  the 
workman  to  his  appointed  post. 

The  steps  were  painful  to  the  flesh.  The 
confinement  at  the  loom  had  been  gradually 
weakening  his  once  robust  frame.  In  the  year 
1811  he  was  seized  with  an  illness  which  was 
pronounced  to  be  incipient  consumption. 

In  the  parish  manse,  and  pulpit,  there  had 
lately  been  witnessed  unwonted  scenes.  "I 
remember,"   wrote  Dr.   Chalmers  long  after- 


THE  MA^^SE   OF   KILMANY.  17 

wards,  "  that  somewliere  about  the  year  1811, 
I  had  Wilberforce's  View  put  into  my  hands, 
and,  as  I  got  on  in  reading  it,  felt  myself  on 
the  eve  of  a  great  revolution  in  all  my  opinions 
about  Christianity."  For  upwards  of  six  years 
previous  to  that  period,  the  minister  had  been 
dehvering  to  the  astonished  rustics  moral 
harangues — magnificent,  indeed,  in  diction, 
and  charged  with  the  most  brilliant  oratory, 
but  ignoring  the  conscience  of  the  sinner,  and 
ignoring  the  grace  of  God.  At  last,  however, 
he  had  been  taken  to  a  sick-bed,  and  a  new 
light  had  there  begun  to  dawn.  "  I  am  now," 
is  his  own  subsequent  allusion  to  the  crisis 
through  which  his  soul  had  passed, — "I  am 
now  most  thoroughly  of  opinion,  and  it  is  an 
opinion  founded  on  experience,  that  on  the 
system  of — '  Do  this  and  live,'  no  peace,  and 
even  no  true  and  worthy  obedience,  can  ever 
be  obtained.  It  is — '  Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.'  When 
this  belief  enters  the  heart,  joy  and  confidence 
enter  along  with  it.    We  look  to  God  in  a 

2* 


18  THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANT. 

new  light — we  see  Him  as  a  reconciled  Father; 
that  love  to  Him  which  terror  scares  away,  re- 
enters the  heart,  and  with  a  new  principle  and 
a  new  power,  we  become  new  creatures  in 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

The  preacher  had  become  a  new  man. 
**  Had  more  intimate  communion  with  God  in 
solitary  prayer,"  is  the  entry  in  his  Diary  on 
November  4th,  "  than  I  had  ever  felt  before ; 
and  my  sentiment  was  a  total,  an  unreserved, 
and  a  secure  dependence  on  Christ  the  Saviour. 
O  may  I  enjoy  his  cross,  and  may  it  be  all  my 
glory."  And  the  man  had  become  a  new 
preacher.  "  May  I  give,"  is  his  entry  on 
a  Sabbath  evening  a  fortnight  afterwards, 
"  my  most  strenuous  efforts  to  the  great  work 
of  preparing  a  people  for  eternity." 

It  was  whilst  this  work  was  going  forward 
in  the  heart  and  in  the  pulpit  of  the  minister, 
that  the  disabled  weaver  was  first  awakened  to 
concern  about  his  soul. 

The  sickness  startled  him.  At  his  father's 
request,  the  minister  visited  him.     The  first 


THE  MANSE  OF  KILMANY.  19 

meeting  was  curious.  "When  lie  saw  tlie 
minister  coming  towards  tlie  house,"  says  our 
informant,  "  lie  made  Ms  escape  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible." As  yet  lie  did  not  know  tlie  largeness 
of  heart,  and  the  tender  kindly  sympathy,  of 
him  who  was  ere  long  to  be  his  spiritual  father. 

Another  meeting — in  striking  contrast  with 
the  first — soon  followed.  It  is  recorded  by 
Dr.  Chalmers,  in  his  Journal,  thus : — 

''December  26ih,  1811.  Had  a  call  in  the 
evening  from  A.  Paterson,  who  had  been  read- 
ing '  Baxter  on  Conversion,'  and  is  much  im- 
pressed by  it.  A.  P.  finds  that  he  cannot  ob- 
tain a  clear  view  of  Christ.  0  God,  may  I 
grow  in  experience  and  capacity  for  the  man- 
agement of  these  cases.  It  is  altogether  a  new 
field  to  me,  but  I  hope  that  my  observations 
will  give  stability  to  my  views  and  principles 
on  this  subject;  and  that  my  senses  will  be  ex- 
ercised to  discern  good  and  evil." 

The  manse-study  witnessed  many  such  meet- 
ings. No  time  was  grudged  by  the  minister, 
which  was  spent  in  the  all-important  work  of 


20  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

guiding  distressed  souls  to  tlie  Saviour.  It 
was  "  altogetlier  a  new  field  to  him,"  but  it  was 
the  field  which  of  all  others  he  now  delighted 
to  cultivate.  Never  had  John  Bonthron,  the 
parish-newsmonger,  been  in  former  days  more 
welcome  at  the  manse,  than  was  now  an  awak- 
ened sinner. 

Two  anxious  inquirers  were  often  there  that 
winter.  The  same  stirring  ministrations  which 
touched  the  conscience  of  Alexander  Paterson, 
had  come  home  to  the  heart  of  Kobert  Edie. 
At  one  time  separately,  at  another  time  to- 
gether, the  two  friends  might  be  seen  of  an 
evening  entering  the  manse-door,  bent  on  the 
all-momentous  errand.  ""With  all  the  kind- 
liness of  his  manner,"  says  our  informant, 
"  and  clearness  of  his  intellect,  Dr.  Chalmers 
on  these  occasions  opened  up  to  both  inquirers 
the  way  of  life."  Not  unfrequently,  our  in- 
formant adds,  the  conversation  became  so  en- 
grossing that  they  did  not  leave  the  manse  till 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  instead  of 
returning  home  to  sleep,  Paterson,  who  had 


THE  MANSE  OF  KILMANY.  21 

now  removed  to  a  farm  some  miles  distant,  and 
was  engaged  at  tlie  plongli,  arrived  in  time 
only  to  commence  tlie  operations  of  tlie  day. 

Instructive  scenes — those  night-colloquies! 
Let  tlie  reader  try  to  picture  them.  "  I  have 
a  very  lively  recollection,"  says  Eobert  Edie, 
depicting  a  kindred  scene  witnessed  by  him  in 
the  following  year,  "  of  the  intense  earnestness 
of  his  addresses  on  occasions  of  visitation  in 
my  father's  house,  when  he  would  uncon- 
sciously move  forward  on  his  chair  to  the  very 
margin  of  it,  in  his  anxiety  to  impart  to  the 
family  and  servants  the  impressions  of  eternal 
things,  which  so  filled  his  own  soul."*  It  was 
thus  he  labored,  hour  after  hour,  to  remove 
the  difficulties  and  dispel  the  anxieties  of  the 
inquirers  at  these  lengthened  interviews.  Like 
the  Master  at  the  well,  he  forgot  his  fatigues, 
in  his  efforts  to  lead  to  the  fountain  one  thirst- 
ing soul. 

"  Prayers  and  pains,"  he  used  to  say,  quot- 
ing the  favorite  apopthegm  of  John  Ehot, — 

*  Chalmer's  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  410. 


22  THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANT. 

"Prayers  and  pains  can  do  anytldng."  His 
prayers  and  pains  tlie  Lord  blessed.  The 
scene  in  tlie  plantation,  given  in  our  opening 
paragraph,  indicates  the  result.  Like  their 
teacher  a  year  before,  the  two  inquirers  found 
peace  in  believing.  An  entry  in  Dr.  Chal- 
mers' journal  seems  to  indicate  the  breaking 
forth  of  the  sunshine, — ''^  Sunday^  March  1st 
Alexander  Paterson,  who  called  on  me  yester- 
day, called  on  me  to-night  also.  He  tells  me 
that  he  has  obtained  more  comfort."  And 
what  kind  of  comfort  is  meant,  we  may  gather 
from  another  sentence  in  the  same  entry,  ex- 
pressing his  own.  "  I  had  a  very  near  and  in- 
timate perception  6f  my  Saviour  this  evening. 
I  felt .  .  joyful  communion  with  God." 

But  the  reader  shall  hear  the  outpouring  of 
the  new  convert's  heart.  "  I  hope,"  we  find 
him  writing  to  his  friend  Robert  Edie,  (in 
1812,)  "  you  are  putting  on  strong  resolutions 
to  follow  your  great  Redeemer,  who  came  from 
the  bosom  of  His  Father,  and  tabernacled 
among  sinful  men.     The  time  is  drawing  near, 


THE  MANSE  OF  KILMANT.  23 

that  we  are  to  commemorate  that  awful  event 
whicli  took  place  at  Jerusalem.  Oh  the  love 
of  Christ — it  passes  all  understanding.  '  Come 
saith  the  Lord,  let  us  reason  together ;  though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  white  as 
snow  ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they 
shall  be  as  wool.'  ITow  we  ai;e  to  sit  down  at 
the  table  of  the  Lord.  "We  enlist  ourselves  to 
that  great  Captain  of  our  salvation.  We 
therefore  must  take  the  helmet  of  salvation, 
and  the  breast-plate  of  faith. 

*'  It  is  not  in  man  that  walketh,"  he  adds, 
"  to  direct  his  steps.  We  must  pray  to  God 
for  His  Spirit  to  help  us  in  the  time  of  need. 
And  this  is  a  time  of  great  need ;  for  the  devil 
will  be  going  about  like  a  roaring  lion,  to  cast 
us  down  into  the  pit.  0,  my  lovely  friend, 
what  think  you  of  Christ  ?  Do  you  find  some 
warm  love  burning  in  your  breast?" 

After  the  two  converts  had  been  at  the  table, 
he  again  writes, — "I  hope,  my  dear  Eobert, 
you  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  We 
have  enlisted  ourselves  to  be  His  faithful  sol- 


24  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

diers,  to  fight  under  Him ;  and  lie  will  be  a 
faithful  Captain.  Oh  Kobert,  as  we  have  vowed 
to  be  the  Lord's,  may  we  defer  not  to  pay  our 
vows  now  unto  Him  who  is  worthy  to  receive 
all  honor  and  glory.  Since  we  have  tasted 
His  body,  may  this  be  a  means  of  dethroning 
sin  that  has  so  much  dominion  over  us.  May 
we  live  no  longer  to  ourselves,  but  to  Him  who 
died  for  our  sins,  but  is  risen  again.  Oh  that 
we  could  bear  about  with  us  the  dying  of  our 
Lord.  Oh  that  our  thoughts  were  always  set- 
tled upon  Him,  and  our  conversation  becoming 
the  gospel ;  for  we  must  be  Christians,  not  in 
word  only,  but  in  deed  also. 

"We  must  make  head,"  he  contiaues, 
"  against  sin  now.  "We  must  be  forgetting  the 
things  which  are  behind,  and  be  pressing  on 
towards  those  things  which  are  before.  O 
God  do  thou  take  up  thy  abode  in  each  of  our 
hearts.  Oh  perfect  thy  strength  in  our  weak- 
ness, and  make  thy  grace  sufficient  for  us.  0 
Lord,  hold  up  our  goings.  Let  not  our  foot- 
steps slip  out  of  thy  ways." 


"THE  TRySTING-TREE."  25 

And  in  another  letter,  also  dated  1812, — "  I 
wish  that  we  could  have  our  conversation  in 
the  heavens,  then  would  sin  become  evil  and 
loathsome  in  our  eyes.  Oh  may  we  be  often 
at  the  throne  of  grace  pouring  out  our  hearts 
before  God." 

These  letters  were  written  from  the  "  Bothy" 
of  a  farm  in  the  neighboring  parish  of  Logie, 
to  which  Alexander  Paterson  had  removed 
after  recovering  from  his  illness.  The  friends 
used  still  to  meet  at  the  church  of  Kilmany 
each  returning  Sabbath.  "  I  well  remember," 
says  one  who  was  a  member  of  the  congrega- 
tion, "  seeing  Alexander  Paterson  seated  before 
the  pulpit,  and  how  intense  was  the  earnestness 
of  his  expression,  whilst  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel were  so  strikingly  and  faithfully  delivered." 
"When  the  service  was  over,"  remarks  the 
biographer  of  Chalmers,  "his  friend,  Eobert 
Edie,  generally  convoyed  him  part  of  the  way 
home.  About  one  hundred  yards  from  the 
road  along  which  they  travelled,  in  the  thickly- 
screened  seclusion  of  a  close  plantation,  and 

2 


26  THE  MISSIONARY   OP  KILMANY. 

under  the  shade  of  a  branching  fir-tree,  the 
two  friends  found  a  quiet  retreat,  where,  each 
returning  Sabbath  evening,  the  eje  that  seeth 
in  secret  looked  down  upon  these  two  youthful 
disciples  of  the  Saviour  on  their  knees;  and 
for  an  hour  their  ardent  prayers  alternately  as- 
cended to  the  throne  of  grace.  The  practice 
was  continued  for  years,  till  a  private  footpath 
of  their  own  had  been  opened  to  the  trysting- 
tree."* 

*  Chalmers'  Memoirs,  to!  I  p  429. 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  Lighted  Candle— George  Herbert— The  "  Bothy"— The  Ballad-Singer 
The  Ballads  Burned— The  Songs  of  David— Parallel— The  Vaudois— 
Rustic  Picture— Scottish  Peasantry — The  Moonlight  Readings — Meet- 
ings—The Talisman— " Where  were  his  Orders?" — John  Wesley — 
Sabbath  Class— Fruits— The  Brotherhood. 

The  candle  wliich.  the  Lord  had  lighted  was 
not  to  be  hidden  under  a  bushel.  "Let  me 
not  languish,"  sighs  George  Herbert,  in  one  of 
his  pietistic  reveries, — 

"  Let  me  not  languish,  then,  and  spend 
A  life  as  barren  to  thy  praise 
As  is  the  dust,  to  which  that  life  doth  tend. 
But  with  delays. 

"  All  things  are  busy ;  only  I 

Neither  bring  honey  with  the  bees, 
Nor  flowers  to  make  that,  nor  the  husbandry 

To  water  these. 

"  I  am  no  link  of  thy  great  chain. 
But  all  my  company  is  as  a  weed ; 
Lord,  place  me  in  thy  concert :  give  one  strain 

To  my  poor  reed." 


28  THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

Alexander  Paterson  was  not  a  man  of  reveries, 
''When  I  detect  myself  in  unprofitable  reve- 
rie," wrote  liis  spiritual  father  in  Ms  journal, 
on  March  12,  1812,  "let  me  make  an  instant 
transition  from  dreaming  to  doing."  The 
ploughman  was  now  to  be  one  of  the  Lord's 
workmen.  And  his  time  for  "  doing"  was 
come. 

The  first  missionary  scene  was  the  "  Bothy." 
In  certain  districts  of  Scotland,  each  farm- 
onstead  has  attached  to  it  an  apartment  where 
the  unmarried  male  servants  take  their  food 
together  and  sleep.  That  apartment  is  the 
"  Bothy."  Its  inmates  are  usually  at  the  zero- 
point,  intellectually  and  morally.  A  field  less 
likely  to  yield  "  fruit  unto  eternal  life"  could 
not  easily  be  named.  This  field  the  new  con- 
vert was  now  called  to  reap. 

He  was  not  slow  to  put  in  the  sickle. 
"Whilst  at  Cruvie,  living  in  the  *  Bothy,'"  is 
the  testimony  of  one  who  had  access  to  know 
accurately  the  details  of  this  period  of  his  life, 
"  he  first  began  his  assaults  upon  the  kingdom 


THE  BOTHY.  29 

of  Satan.  He  told  me  that  lie  was  not  always 
able  to  establish  morning  and  evening  prayer 
amongst  his  fellow-servants;  yet  he  always 
succeeded  in  getting  the  Bible  read.  One  of  the 
men  was  very  fond  of  ballads,  collecting  them 
in  great  numbers,  and  spending  his  evenings  in 
committing  them  to  memory,  that  he  might 
sing  them  at  the  plough.  For  a  time  this  in- 
terrupted the  reading  of  the  Bible,  and  the 
other  profitable  exercises  on  which  the  heart  of 
Alexander  was  set.  By-and-bye,  however,  a 
door  was  opened  for  him.  Paterson  was  in 
the  habit  of  rising  in  the  morning  earlier  than 
his  fellow-servants,  that  he  might  have  leisure 
for  reading  the  Word  of  God,  for  meditation, 
and  for  prayer,  before  beginning  the  labors  of 
the  day.  One  morning,  as  he  was  thus  en- 
gaged, the  ballad-singer  awoke — asked  him 
why  he  had  not  roused  him,  what  he  was 
doing,  and  if  he  would  not  read  aloud.  With 
great  solemnity  and  pathos  he  read  a  passage 
from  the  Word.  The  arrow  entered  at  '  the 
joints  of  the  harness.'    The  man  was  wounded, 

3* 


80  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

From  that  time  a  change  was  observed  in  Hm. 
He  burned  all  bis  ballads,  of  which  there  was 
an  immense  collection ;  and  in  their  stead  he 
began  to  commit  to  memory  the  Psalms,  and 
to  sing  them." 

The  story  reminds  ns  of  a  picture  in  the 
rustic  life  of  the  Yaudois.  "In  every  direc- 
tion," says  an  eye-witness,  writing  in  the 
eighth  century,  "  where  there  is  a  sound  of  hu- 
man voices,  it  is  the  voice  of  psalmody.  If  it 
be  the  ploughman  guiding  his  plough,  his 
song  is  Halleluiah.  If  it  be  the  shepherd 
tending  his  flock,  the  reaper  gathering  his 
corn,  or  the  vine-dresser  pruning  his  tendrils, 
his  chant  is  the  same ;  it  is  some  song  of  David 
that  he  sings.  Here  all  poetry  is  sacred 
poetry,  and  every  feeling  of  the  heart  finds  ut- 
terence  in  the  language  of  the  psalmist."  The 
ballad-singer  of  the  "  Bothy"  had  been  touched 
by  the  same  grace ;  and  his  "  new  heart" 
uttered  its  praises  in  the  same  holy  strains. 

Alas  for  our  Scottish  peasantry !  Few 
"  bothies"  now  resound  with  the  "  grave  sweet 


THE  BOTHY.  31 

melodj."  Of  few  plouglimen,  we  fear,  can  it 
now  be  said,  that  "  tlieir  song  is  Halleluiali." 
Yet  what  is  needed  to  repair  our  desolations, 
but  the  multiplication  of  earnest  witnesses  like 
the  missionary-ploughman  of  the  "  Bothy"  of 
Cruvie  ? 

We  next  find  him  in  the  parish  of  Dairsie. 
"  The  course  of  life  on  which  he  here  entered," 
says  our  informant,  "  was  peculiarly  unfavora- 
ble to  any  active  exertions  in  spreading  the 
truth,  and,  but  for  a  perseverance  peculiarly 
characteristic,  must  have  made  it  impossible  to 
engage  in  any  duty  at  all." 

In  addition  to  his  ordinary  labors  as  a  farm- 
servant,  he  had  to  drive  a  cart-load  of  meal 
once  a  week  to  Wemyss.  That  he  might 
arrive  in  time  with  his  load,  he  left  home  about 
midnight.  These  night-journeys,  though  on 
'an  open  cart,  he  greatly  prized ;  for  in  the 
bright  moonlight  he  was  able,  by  the  help  of 
an  uncommonly  fine  sight,  to  study  the  "Word 
of  God.  The  retailer  to  whom  he  carried  the 
meal,  confined  to  his  bed  from  the  effects  of  a 


32  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

fall,  and  consequently  prevented  from  attend- 
ing religious  ordinances,  longed  for  the  morn- 
ing when  he  was  to  arrive ;  for  he  came  to  him 
as  an  angel  of  God, — ^thej  never  parted  with- 
out having  "tasted  and  seen"  that  the  Lord 
was  with  them. 

It  was  the  evening  before  he  again  reached 
home.  Instead  of  refreshing  himself  with 
sleep,  he  set  out  to  hold  prayer-meetings  at  a 
distance  of  several  miles.  These  meetings  as- 
sembled in  different  villages,  there  being  one 
or  more  on  each  evening  of  the  week.  A 
blighting  "  moderatism"  afflicted  nearly  the 
whole  district  all  the  way  to  St.  Andrews ;  and 
the  ploughman's  meetings  were  like  so  many 
guiding  lights,  illumining  the  dark  night. 
The  people  flocked  to  them  in  great  numbers. 
The  Lord  signally  owned  them.  Fruits  of 
them,  we  are  informed,  still  survive. 

The  exercises  at  these  meetings  were  very 
simple, — praying,  reading  the  "Word,  and  an 
earnest  appeal  to  the  conscience.  Cecil  tells 
of  a  man  whom  he  once  heard  preach  ;  he  had 


JOHN  WESLEY.  38 

no  learning,  no  imagination,  no  variety ;  lie 
had  just  one  topic, — that  topic  was  Chkist. 
But  the  man  was  in  earnest ;  he  had  the  unc- 
tion from  above :  and  so  his  one  topic  was  a 
talisman.  Cecil  was  touched  by  that  sermon 
in  a  way  he  never  forgot.  It  was  thus  with 
the  Fifeshire  ploughman.  Finding  in  the  Bi- 
ble the  one  topic,  salvation  for  the  lost,  a  free 
full  Christ  for  the  chief  of  sinners,  he  urged 
upon  the  people  his  unpretending  but  telhng 
message.  Like  Philip  at  Samaria,  he  preached 
Christ  ;  and  not  a  few  beheved. 

"  But  where  were  his  orders?"  some  stickler 
for  church-authority  will  say. 

One  day  John  Wesley,  at  the  outset  of  his 
evangelistic  course,  heard  of  a  man  who,  after 
he  had  been  converted  under  his  ministry,  was 
taking  it  upon  him  to  gather  together  crowds 
of  people,  and  to  tell  them  what  he  had  "  seen 
and  heard."  The  future  founder  of  Method- 
ism, still  enwrapt  in  the  buckram  of  his  eccle- 
siastical forms,  hastened  down  from  London 
in  an  angry  mood,  determined  to  arrest  in  its 


34  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

beginnings  so  glaring  an  offence  against  order. 
"  Jolin,"  said  his  sagacious  mother,  as  she  saw, 
with  the  clearness  of  a  Christian  intuition,  the 
blunder  and  the  sin  into  which  her  son  was 
hastening,  in  silencing  a  man  whose  mouth  the 
Lord  had  opened, — "John,  this  laj-preacher 
is  as  truly  called  of  God  to  preach  as  you  are." 
Wesley,  at  his  mother's  desire,  went  and  heard 
him.  The  gifts  and  graces  of  the  man  he  dis- 
cerned to  be  such  as  could  come  only  from 
above.  What  was  he  that  he  should  withstand 
God  ?  Wesley  acquiesced.  Thomas  Maxwell 
was  not  silenced,  but  encouraged. 

We  are  not  enemies  of  Church-order. 
''  Christianity,"  writes  one  of  the  greatest 
thinkers  of  this  age,*  ''is,  indeed,  conserved 
by  Church -order;  but  surely  it  does  not  exist 
for  the  sake  of  it.  This,  however,  has  shown 
itself  to  be  the  feeling  of  heartless  and  mind- 
less men  in  every  age.  *  Order  first,'  say  they, 
'  and  Christianity  next.'  "  But  what  says  the 
Bible  ?     "  Christianity  first,  order  next."     Yes, 

*  Isaac  Taylor  ;   Wesley  and  Methodism. 


THE  SABBATH-CLASS.  35 

perish  tliat  order  which,  would  hinder  any  man 
— ^be  he  the  shoemaker  of  Kettering,  or  be  he 
the  ploughman  of  Ealmany — ^from  proclaiming 
to  all  men,  wheresoever  he  meets  them,  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God ! 

Even  the  Sabbath  was  not  to  Alexander 
Paterson  a  day  of  rest.  Besides  a  morning 
class  for  children,  he  had  in  the  evening  at 
the  village  of  Dairsie,  a  class  for  young  men 
and  women,  attended,  during  a  period  of  nine 
years,  by  not  fewer  than  sixty.  In  that  class 
many  were  made  savingly  alive.  Often,  in 
after-years,  when  far  away  from  Dairsie,  he 
would  be  accosted  by  persons  whom  he  did  not 
recognise,  till  the  introduction  was  given — "  I 
was  at  your  Sabbath-class  at  Dairsie-moor." 
The  strangers  not  unfrequently  proved  to  be 
his  spiritual  children. 

As  we  are  writing  these  lines,  an  example 
has  reached  us.  "  Do  you  remember,"  said  our 
informant  a  few  days  ago  to  an  old  man  in 
Cupar,  "  Alexander  Paterson's  adult  class  at 
Dairsie-moor  ?"     "I  do,"  he  replied,  overcome 


BQ  THE  MISSION AKY  OF  KILMANY. 

with  emotion,  and  bursting  into  tears;  "I 
have  cause  to  remember  that  class.  I  was  in 
great  distress  about  mj  soul.  I  used  to  wait 
after  it  was  over,  and  go  with  him  in  his  visits 
to  the  sick,  and  then  he  would  walk  with  me 
all  the  way  into  Cupar,  trying  to  bring  light 
into  my  mind.  Often  on  these  occasions  we 
would  walk  and  re-walk  the  road,  till  it  was 
time  to  begin  our  morning-work."  One  of  the 
sick  whom  he  always  saw  on  these  visits,  had 
been  a  member  of  the  class,  but  was  now  lying 
ill  of  consumption.  "  I  never,"  said  he,  "  was 
more  struck  by  anything  than  by  Mr.  Pater- 
son's  conversation  with  that  dying  youth. 
He  addressed  Mr.  Paterson  always  as  his  fa- 
ther. The  joy  that  filled  his  mind  was  quite 
indescribable,  increasing  more  and  more  till 
he  died  triumphing  in  the  Lord." 

With  Eobert  Edie  each  succeeding  year 
drew  closer  the  bonds  of  Christian  affection. 
The  one  aim  of  the  two  brothers,  in  all  their 
commimings,  was  their  mutual  growth  in  grace. 
"May  we  study,"  we  find  the    ploughman 


THE  BROTHERHOOD.  37' 

TTriting  to  his  friend  on  April  8,  1816,  "to 
have  Christ's  words  dwelHng  in  our  hearts, 
that  we  may  speak  to  ourselves  in  psalms,  and 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs.  Earnest  may  we 
be  for  that  grace  of  God,  which  can  teach  us 
to  deny  everything  that  is  not  consistent  with 
the  Word  of  God.  0  may  we  examine  our- 
selves, that  we  may  know  whether  there  be  in 
us  an3rthing  of  the  lust  of  the  eye,  or  of  the 
flesh,  or  the  pride  of  life :  this,  we  are  assured, 
is  not  of  God,  but  is  of  the  world.  May  we 
let  the  world  see  that  we  really  despise  all 
these  things,  and  that  we  love  the  Lord  with 
all  our  hearts." 

And  on  5th  December,  1816,  he  writes ; — 
"  I  hope  we  have  been  often  at  a  throne  of 
grace  since  I  saw  you  a  week  ago.  May  we 
never  forget  to  go  there ;  for  there  it  is  we 
find  our  hearts  drawn  forth  towards  the  Lordi 
Jesus.  0  Eobert !  I  feel  my  heart  just  at  this 
very  moment  beginning  to  bum  with  love  to 
him  who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  for  me,  an 
offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  satisfy  divine  justice." 


'88  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

*'  YoTir  brotlier,"  lie  continues,  "  whom  you 

loved  as  jour  own  soul,  has  taken  his  flight 

.into  a  world  of  spirits,  where  he  is  singing  tha^ 

:  song  of  Moses,  and  of  the  Lamb.     O  what  a 

work  has  he  left  us  to  do  I     Methinks  I  hear 

him  saying  to  each  of  us,  '  Be  not  ashamed  to 

proclaim  Jesus  your  Master  to  your  brother? 

and  sisters,  fathers  and  mothers,  and  sinners 

of  all  kinds.     Be  in  earnest  with  them ;  and 

especially  you,  my  brother,  who  witnessed  the 

pleasure  I  had  in  thinking  upon  my  Saviour 

who  died  for  me  that  I  might  live  with  Him 

in  glory.'     0  then,  we  who  are  left  behind  for 

a  little  time,  may  we  be  waiting  for  the  coming 

:of  our  Lord  I" 


♦* 


CHAPTER    III. 

Dr.  Chalmers'  Removal  to  Glasgow — The  Kilmany  Correspondence-^ 
The  "Obscure  Peasant"— The  FeUowship-Meeling— The  "Bethel*— 

The  "  Salt-Paiis." 

In  1815,  the  minister  of  Kilmany  had  re- 
moved to  Glasgow,  and  had  commenced  that 
brilliant  career  which  made  the  highest  in  the 
land  feel  honored  by  being  numbered  among 
his  correspondents  and  friends.  How  did  the 
removal  affect  his  relation  to  the  humble 
ploughman  ? 

William  Cowper,  in  one  of  his  odes,  deline- 
ates, with  a  cutting  pleasantry,  the  style  of 
two  many  friendships  : — 

"  Some  fickle  creatures  boast  a  soul 
True  as  a  needle  to  the  pole, 

Their  humor  is  so  various  ; 
They  manifest  their  whole  life  through, 
The  needle's  deviations  too, 

Their  love  is  so  precarious." 


40  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

And  one  element  of  estrangement  and  of 
distance  he  singles  out : — 

"The  great  and  small  but  rarely  meet 
On  terms  of  amity  complete  : 

Plebeians  must  surrender, 
And  yield  palm  to  noble  folk — 
It  is  combining  fire  with  smoke, 

Obscurity  with  splendor." 

Not  STicli  a  friend  was  Tliomas  Chalmers. 
He  was  too  real  a  man — ^too  real  in  his  genial 
sympathies — too  real  in  his  Christian  heart,  to 
forget  Alexander  Paterson.  "  A  regular  cor- 
respondence, says  our  informant,  "  was  kept 
up  betwixt  them.  And  whenever  Dr.  Chal- 
mers visited  that  neighborhood,  the  first  place 
he  went  to,  as  soon  as  he  had  arrived  at  Dair- 
sie  Manse,  was  the  adjoining  farm,  where  he 
found  Saunders  (as  he  used  to  call  him)  either 
at  the  plough  or  at  some  such  farm-work."* 

*  Often,  on  these  occasions,  he  brought  Saunders  up  with 
him  to  the  Manse.  At  family-worship  he  used  to  insist  on 
his  leading  the  devotions,  being  greatly  affected  with  his 
"  unction  in  prayer." 

A  characteristic  incident  occurred  one  evening.  Saunders 
had  been  invited  to  remain  to  supper  ;  when  he  had  left,  Dr. 


DE.   CHALMERS.  41 

In  laying  before  tlae  reader  some  specimens 
of  tlie  correspondence,*  we  associate  with  it 
the  other  Kilmany  friend,  not  less  cherished 
by  the  illustrious  and  genial  man,  to  whom 
both  continued  through  life  to  look  up  with 
the  respectful  affection  of  sons. 

The  first  letter  is  from  Dr.  Chalmers  to  Mr. 
Edie:— 

"  Glasgow,  July  21,  1815. 
"My  Dear  Sir, — I  have  to  request  of  jou 
as  Secretary  of  the  Bible  Association  at  Kil- 
many, that  you  will  communicate  to  the  gen- 
eral meeting  to  be  held  on   the  23d  of  this 

Chalmers  remarked  to  Lis  hostess,  iuhis  own  peculiar  way, — 
**  See,  madam,  how  Christianity  teaches  a  man  to  hand^p 
his  knife  and  fork."  Often,  in  after-years,  he  used  to  ob- 
serve, that  he  had  never  seen  so  striking  an  instance  as  his 
friend  Saunders,  of  the  power  of  divine  grace  "  to  turn  a 
ploughman  into  a  gentleman." 

Grace  elevates  the  whole  man ;  one  of  its  eiSfects  is  to 
clothe  the  manners  with  those  delicate  sensibilities  which 
constitute  real  politeness. 

*  The  letters  of  Dr.  Chalmers  are  given  from  the  originals. 
Those  of  Alexander  Paterson  are  also  printed  from  the 
originals,  bound  up  in  Dr.  Chalmers'  Books  of  Letters,  and 
forwarded  to  the  author  by  Dr.  Hanna. 

4» 


4St  THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY 

month,  my  regret  at  not  having  had  it  in  my 
power  to  bid  a  personal  adieu  to  all  its  mem- 
bers. It  is  true  that  I  could  have  consented  to 
such  a  day  for  the  meeting  as  might  have 
made  my  attendance  a  possible  thing.  I  could 
have  been  in  my  place  on  that  day, — I  could 
have  taken  my  seat  amongst  them,  and  been  a 
hearer  of  your  minutes  and  your  deliberations ; 
but  I  could  not,  without  an  exertion  by  far  too 
violent  for  the  exhausted  state  of  my  feelings, 
have  been  a  sharer  in  these  deliberations.  I 
could  not,  without  an  expense  of  feeling  which 
would  have  been  by  far  too  much  for  me,  have 
said  all  that  I  thought  on  the  interesting  ob- 
ject which  called  you  together ;  and  it  was 
toth  to  spare  myself  and  others  whose  attach- 
ment I  know  and  I  rejoice  in,  that  I  resolved  not 
to  attempt  another  painful  exercise  of  tender- 
ness by  the  solemnity  of  another  parting  ad- 
dress to  you. 

"  And  surely  I  need  not  again  state  my  firm 
adherence  to  the  object  of  your  Association.  I 
trust  I  shall  be  able  to  carry  entire  into  a 


DK.   CHALMERS.  43 

larger  and  a  wider  field  those  principles  which 
influenced  me  to  the  part  I  took  among  jcm 
in  forming  and  in  carrying  on  the  business  of 
your  society.  And  I  beg  to  assure  you,  that 
the  signal  success  which  crowned  the  attempt 
at  Kilmany,  shall  not  be  forgotten  in  any 
fature  exertions  I  may  be  called  to  make  for 
the  same  object  at  Glasgow ;  and  if  God  is 
pleased  to  spare  me  and  to  assign  me  a  place 
among  the  Christian  laborers  of  this  city,  for 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel  of  His  Son,  I 
'shall  ever  recollect  with  gratitude  that  the 
ready  and  cheerful  and  extensive  concurrence 
of  my  old  and  much-loved  parishioners  in  this 
cause,  forms  one  of  the  most  encouraging 
arguments  for  persevering  in  a  line  of  exertion 
so  honorable  as  that  of  helping  forward  the 
knowledge  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  circulation 
of  the  message  which  He  left  behind  Him. 

"It  is  true  that  a  single  country-association 
is  not  so  productive  as  the  institution  of  a 
great  town;  but  its  value  as  an  example  is 
much    greater :    for,    were    similar    societies 


44  THE  MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

formed  in  all  tlie  parishes,  and  each  of  them  to 
be  only  half  as  productive  as  Kllmany  has 
been,  it  would  go  to  form  a  much  larger 
revenue  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  than  has 
ever  yet  been  made  up  from  all  the  contribu- 
tions of  rich  and  poor  throughout  the  empire. 

"  He  who  watereth  plentifully  shall  be 
watered  himself;  and  it  is  my  prayer  that  all 
you  have  done  and  are  still  doing  in  this  way, 
may  be  made  by  Him  who  loveth  a  cheerful 
giver,  to  return  plentifully  into  your  own 
bosom.  While  you  share  in  the  work  of  cir- 
culating the  Bible,  let  your  own  hearts  be 
alive  to  the  power  and  the  preciousness  of  the 
truths  which  are  contained  in  it.  Learn  them 
for  yourselves,  and  teach  them  to  the  children 
who  come  after  you.  Pray  for  that  Spirit  who 
alone  giveth  ef&cacy  to  the  instrument  of  the 
work  ;  and  let  the  blessing  which  you  help  to 
spread  among  all  countries,  be  powerfully 
realized  in  the  heart  of  your  own  families. 

*'  I  am  sure  of  your  regard  for  me.  I  beg 
you  to  be  equally  sure  of  mine  for  you.     Ko 


DR.   CHALMERS.  45 

distance,  I  trust,  shall  ever  divide  our  affec- 
tions. WhUe  I  crave  tlie  support  of  your  in- 
tercession, I  also  assure  you  of  my  purpose  to 
bear  you  often  on  my  remembrance  and  my 
heart  before  the  throne  of  God.  May  He  com- 
fort you  by  His  Spirit ;  may  He  bless  you  by 
more  light  and  peace  and  joy  than  you  have 
ever  yet  had.  May  He  stablish  you  upon  His 
Son,  and  make  such  a  work  of  grace  go  on  in 
the  hearts  of  each  and  all  of  you,  that  when 
Death  brings  us  to  one  judgment,  we  may  be 
found  meet  for  one  joyful  and  unfading  inher- 
itance.— I  am  your  most  affectionate  and  de- 
voted friend, 

"Thomas  Chalmers. 

"I  arrived  here  in  good  health  yesterday.   I 

■i 

have  to  crave  your  acceptance  of  two  guineas 
for  the  Kilmany  Bible  Society." 

The  next  letter  is  likewise  from  Dr.  Chal- 
mers to  Mr.  Edie : — 

"  Glasgow^  August  10,  1815. 
My  Dear  Sir, — I  have  at  length  fixed  on  a 


46  THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY. 

house,  No.  56  Charlotte  street,  and  I  want  the 
following  articles  to  be  sent  me  immediately  .  . 
"  I  heard  of  your  brother's  death*  by  a  let- 
ter received  yesterday  from  Mrs.  Chalmers, 
and  Avas  much  affected  by  her  statement  of 
some  of  the  particulars.  May  this  afflicting 
dispensation  leave  its  right  and  salutary  im- 
pression behind  it.  May  it  be  sanctified  to  his 
friends ;  may  it  impart  a  seriousness  to  all  the 
members  of  your  family ;  and  0  that  the 
affecting  testimony  of  a  young  man  taking  his 
departure  from  this  world,  and  giving  his 
solemn  witness  to  the  supreme  importance  of 
another,  led  us  all  to  look  upon  ourselves  as 
strangers  and  pilgrims  upon  earth,  and  to  live 
by  the  powers  of  a  coming  eternity. 

*  "  You  recollect,"  wrote  Robert  Edie  some  time  after- 
wards to  Alexander  Paterson,  "  my  brother  David's  length- 
ened illness,  and  the  great  kindness  Dr.  Chalmers  showed 
him  on  his  death-bed,  often  conversing  and  praying  with 
him.  One  day,  after  visiting  him,  I  walked  out  with  Dr.  0. ; 
still  talking  of  my  brother's  spiritual  state,  he  made  a  sud- 
den halt,  and  holding  up  his  staff  in  his  hand,  said  with 
warmth,  *  How  consoling  the  thought,  that  your  brother  will 
be  a  monument  of  divine  grace  to  all  eternity  ?'  " 


DR.   CHALMEES.  47 

"  I  have  not  heard  from  Kilmany  since  I 
came  here.  I  wrote  Mr.  Balfour,  and  I  hope 
he  would  receive  my  letter.  Perhaps  he 
thinks  it  necessary  to  have  my  direction,  but 
the  bare  address  to  me  at  Glasgow  will  reach 
me.  I  cannot  yet  bring  myself  to  think  of 
my  old  neighborhood  without  pain  ;  and  the 
whole  parting  scene  passes  before  me  in  the 
form  of  a  very  gloomy  and  oppressive  recol- 
lection. I  see  that  it  will  require  great  ar- 
rangement to  secure  me  the  right  command  of 
time  for  my  studies.  I  am  striving  to  keep  my 
day  from  being  broken  in  upon  till  twelve ; 
and  then  callers,  and  poor,  and  people  of  all 
descriptions  come  in  upon  me  at  the  rate  say 
of  twenty  per  day.  I  then  go  out  to  meetings 
and  visits  in  the  town,  and  endeavor  always  to 
have  one  hour's  walk  in  the  country  before 
dinner.  I  am  sadly  teased  with  invitations ; 
but  this,  too,  I  am  striving  to  reduce  to  some 
kind  of  moderation ;  and  I  hope  that  in  the 
process  of  time  I  shall  be  able  to  accommodate 


48  THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMAKY. 

myself  pleasantly  and  securely  to  the  state  of 
my  actual  circumstances. 

"  I  mean  to  leave  Glasgow  on  Monday  the 
20tli  of  August,  and  spend  a  fortnight  between 
Kirkaldy  and  Burntisland  at  sea-bathing.  I 
would  willingly  come  to  Kilmany,  but  I  know 
what  the  effect  would  be — ;just  another  gloomy 
scene  of  regret  and  melancholy  at  leaving  it. 
This,  I  trust,  will  not  operate  as  an  objection 
to  the  more  deliberate  visit  which  I  propose  to 
pay  next  summer ;  but  at  present  the  wound 
is  too  fresh  and  too  recent  to  admit  of  being  so 
soon  tampered  with. 

"  It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  meet  Alexan- 
der Paterson  after  I  left  you,  who  cheered  me 
with  encouraging  information  respecting  some 
of  his  acquaintances  in  the  parish.  O  that  it 
might  turn  out  to  be  a  genuine  work  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  their  consciences.  I  have 
earnestly  to  entreat  of  you  that  you  hold  fast 
all  right  and  serious  impressions,  and  be  as- 
sured that  there  would  not  have  been  so  much 
said  in  the  Bible  about  backsliding — ^and  tak- 


DE.  CHALMEES.  49 

ing  heed  lest  we  fall — and  strengthening  the 
things  which  remain, — had  there  not  been  a 
strong  tendency  to  relapse  on  onr  part ;  and 
it  is  right  that  we  should  be  aware  of  this— 
and  that  our  vigilance  should  be  directed  to 
the  point  of  danger  and  alarm — and  that  we 
should  make  in  faith  a  daily  and  an  hourly 
commitment  of  ourselves  to  those  promises 
which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  of  not  being  tempted 
beyond  what  we  are  able,  and  of  being 
strengthened  by  Him  to  do  all  things. 

*'  I  beg  of  you  to  offer  the  expression  of  my 
sincere  regard  to  all  the  members  of  your 
family.  I  sympathize  with  Mrs.  Edie,  whose 
affection  for  poor  David,  whom  she  had  so 
long  and  so  anxiously  tended,  must  have  re- 
ceived a  deep  wound  from  his  affecting  depar- 
ture. Tell  me  if  Miss  Edie  is  better  of  her 
cold ;  and  I  should  like  also  to  know  about 
Miss  Mills,  whom  I  had  visited  twice  or  thrice 
before  leaving  this  country.  Give  my  kindest 
remembrance  to  Thomas  Kay,  Eobert  Dewar, 
and  Alexander  Paterson,  senior.    Eemember 

6 


50  THE  MISSIONARY   OF   KILMANY. 

me  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aitkin.  When  I  name 
those  acquaintances,  I  think  of  their  houses, 
and  a  lively  image  of  my  old  people  and 
neighborhood  enters  into  my  mind,  and  throws 
me  into  a  flood  of  tenderness.  Let  me  not 
forget  Mrs.  Bonthron.  Is  the  beadle  got  bet- 
ter ?  I  beg  that  Mr.  Edie  may  inform  me, 
through  your  letter,  of  Mary  Farmer  and  John 
Dandie,  as  to  their  cir.cumstances.  Tell  Wil- 
liam Henderson  that  though  we  could  not 
speak  when  we  last  saw  each  other,  I  had  a 
very  deep  impression  both  of  his  regard  for 
me  and  his  wife's.  Speak  of  me  to  Ephy 
Nicholson  ;  and  though  I  do  not  name  all  the 
villagers,  I  love  them  all,  and  often  think  of 
them  all.  Give  my  kind  compHments  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kobertson.  I  consider  a  letter  to  you 
as  equivalent  to  a  letter  to  your  father,  and  I 
hope  he  will  consider  it  as  such ;  and  it  will 
give  me  great  pleasure  to  have  immediately  a 
letter  either  from  him  or  you  in  return.  But 
let  it  be  long  and  closely  written,  and  rest  aS' 
sured  it  cannot  be  too  particular.    Every  one 


DR.   CHALMERS.  51 

piece  of  information  respecting  any  one, 
either  of  tlie  parish  or  village,  will  interest  me 
greatly.  Crowd  all  tlie  intelligence  you  can 
think  of  into  the  letter,  for  I  have  a  great  ap- 
petite to  know  and  hear  respecting  you  all. 
Could  I  learn  of  any  one  rejoicing  in  the  truth, 
and  walking  in  the  truth,  it  would  be  an  ex- 
quisite gratification.  I  beg  you  will  write 
your  letter  more  closely  than  I  have  done,  and 
do  it  on  a  long  sheet  if  you  have  it.  With 
prayers  for  you  and  all  your  relations,  believe 
me  to  be,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  with  most  sin- 
cere regard, 

"Thomas  Chalmers." 

"  I  count  it  a  great  happiness  and  a  high 
honor,"  we  find  Eobert  Edie  writing  to  Dr. 
Chalmers  on  19th  August  (1815),  "to  be 
ranked  among  the  humblest  of  your  corre- 
spondents. The  learned  and  the  celebrated  Mr. 
Chalmers  corresponds  with  an  obscure  peas- 
ant !  but  though  far-famed,  and  justly  too,  I 
know  you  are  destitute  of  pride ;  and  with 


62  THE   MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

confidence  I  write  to  you  as  my  instructor,  and 
my  friend  in  Christ  Jesus."  ^ 

"I  have  seen  Alexander  Paterson  fre- 
quently," lie  proceeds  in  another  jDart  of  the 
same  letter,  "  who  assures  me  the  fellowship- 
meeting,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  is  doing 
well,  and  that  he  has  the  prospect  of  soon  add- 
ing one  to  his  present  number.  I  know  not 
the  person's  name ;  but  he  is  a  married  man 
and  young.  Sandy  and  he  have  held  several 
colloquies — he  seems  to  be  a  lively  and  warm 
Christian,  and  approves  much  of  the  measure. 
Is  not  this  encouraging  ?" 

"  I  have  no  immediate  prospect,"  he  adds, 
"  of  getting  a  similar  society  formed  here. 
But  we  must  not  be  discouraged ;  we  must 
apply  to  our  Captain,  who  may  farnish  us  with 
powerful  persuasives  to  work  upon  the  luke- 
warm friends  of  His  cause.  I  know  one  or 
two  who  I  dare  say  might  agree  to  the  thing ; 
"but  then  they  are  speculative  people,  and 
would  be  more  ready  to  make  a  parade  of  their 
orthodoxy,  than  calmly  and  seriously  to  con- 


DE.   CHALMERS.  6S 

suit  witli  their  fellows  about  the  meaning  of 
any  part  of  Scripture  wliich  migtit  be  proposed 
for  examination.  Could  I  only  meet  with  a 
few  decided  and  unassuming  Christians  like 
Alexander  Paterson,  there  would  not  be  the 
smallest  difficulty  in  forming  a  Society.  I 
trust  some  such  will  soon  be  discovered." 

Another  characteristic  letter  from  Dr.  Chal- 
mers to  the  same  correspondent  follows : — 

"  Kirlcaldy^  September  5,  1815. 
^  "  My  Dear  Sir, — I  am  here  at  sea-bathing. 
I  go  to  Burnt-island  on  Thursday  first,  and  re- 
main there  till  Thursday  week.  I  find  myself 
greatly  the  better  of  my  excursion  from  Glas- 
gow, and  am  already  looking  forward  with 
great  interest  to  that  Kilmany  excursion, 
which,  if  God  be  pleased  to  spare  me,  I  pro- 
pose to  make  next  summer. 

"  I  received  your  most  interesting  letter,  and 
wept  over  it.  I  trust  your  family  may  all  be 
taught  of  God,  and  be  enabled  to  spread  a 
savor  of  good  things  over  the  neighborhood 

5* 


54  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

around  them.  You  cannot  write  too  often,  too 
minutely,  or  at  too  'great  length.  I  feel  that  I 
shall  ever  take  a  great  interest  in  mj  old  par- 
ish— and  it  is  my  wish  that  God  would  make 
me  more  mindful  of  them  all,  and  more  fer- 
vent in  my  daily  prayers  for  them,  than  I  have 
ever  yet  been. 

"  The  chests  arrived  in  safety,  and  we  should 
like  the  remaining  furniture  to  be  packed  off 
as  soon  as  possible.  You  remember  the  direc- 
tion, 56  Charlotte  street.  Keep  an  account  of 
all  the  expenses.  Get  George  "Wilson  to  su- 
perintend the  movement.  Give  the  different 
farmers  an  equal  share  in  driving  it ;  and  lest 
the  harv^est  should  make  it  inconvenient  for 
them  to  do  it  at  present,  I  have  no  objections 
that  the  matter  should  be  delayed  for  a  fort- 
night. 

"  I  have  a  short  Address  to  Kilmany  in  the 
press.  I  was  obliged  to  confine  myself  very 
much  to  one  topic.  I  hope  I  may  have  been 
well  directed  in  my  choice  of  it ;  and  it  will 
give  me  pleasure  to  hear  from  you  afterwards, 


DR.   CHALMERS.  55 

that  it  is  read  witli  acceptance  and  impression 
by  my  miicli-loved  people.  It  is  likely, 
though.  I  am  not  sure,  that  a  parcel  may  be 
sent  for  sale  to  Eobert  Dewar.  You  need  not 
mention  this  to  him  yet ;  but  if  you  inquire  at 
the  Cupar  carrier  in  a  fortnight  or  so,  for  a  par- 
cel directed  to  Eobert,  and  find  one,  3"0U  may 
conclude  that  it  is  the  one  I  am  speaking  of. 
He  will  pa}^  the  carriage  ;  and  as  I  have  no  in- 
terest in  him  selhng  them  without  a  profit,  he 
must  take  the  full  booksellers'  profit,  and  sell 
them  at  the  price  he  is  directed  to  do.  His 
copies  will  be  cheaper  than  those  for  general 
sale — and,  therefore,  he  must  supply  the  parish 
in  the  first  instance. 

"  I  mean,  if  I  can  get  hold  of  Witherspoon 
on  Regeneration  in  Edinburgh,  to  send  you  a 
copy.  It  is  a  truly  important  treatise,  and  I 
think  will  be  much  liked  both  by  you  and 
Alexander  Paterson.  I  hope  you  are  both 
holding  fast  your  confidence.  What  a  priv- 
ilege when  we  are  enabled  by  faith  to  say  of 
God,  each  of  us  for  himself,  that  he  is  my  Qod ! 


56  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANX- 

Now,  all  have  a  warrant  for  this.  God  does 
not  refuse  us,  but  how  many  of  us  refuse  him. 
He  is  pleased  with  the  faith  of  a  creature  say- 
ing of  him,  that  he  is  my  God.  With  such  a 
faith  as  this  how  delightful  is  existence — ^how 
light  are  all  its  cares — ^how  calm  and  clear  that 
soul  which  can  so  rest  upon  God.  Do,  my  dear 
sir,  dwell  much  upon  the  jDromises,  and  shut 
not  your  eye  u^Don  the  precepts.  They  go  hand 
in  hand.  By  the  one  you  are  enabled  to  ful- 
fil the  other,  and  with  the  joys  of  the  Christ- 
ian faith  to  combine  the  diligence  of  the 
Christian  practice. 

"  My  brother  Sandy  is  coming  on  in  prac- 
tice. He  desires  his  compliments  to  you.  Ee- 
member  me  over  again  to  all  whom  I  named  in 
my  former  letter,  and  particularly  your  father, 
mother,  and  family.  If  I  did  not  name  old 
John  Lumsden,  I  do  it  now  with  affection. 
When  you  see  Mr.  Lees,  remember  me  to  him. 
I  beg  you  to  give  my  kind  remembrance  to 
LIr.  and  Mrs.  Gilchrist,  and  my  assurances  of 
regard  for  them  and  their  young  family.     My 


V    »       1, 


DR.   CHALMERS.  57 

wife  speaks  affectionately  of  jou  and  all  your 
family.  Jane  is  in  great  health  and  spirits.  I 
am  obliged  to  conclude  from  want  of  time; 
but  do  you  write  me  soon,  and  fill  up  every 
corner  of  your ,  letter  to  me. — Yours  most 
affectionately,  "  Thomas  Chalmers. 

"Tell  Mr.  Balfour  that  I  shall  write  him 
soon." 

The  "  Address  to  Kilmany"  was  issued.  In 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Edie,  dated  two  months  later, 
lie  thus  writes : — 

'''  Glasgow^  November  25,  1815. 
*'  My  Dear  Sir, — I  received  your  most  wel- 
come epistle  some  days  ago.  It  gives  me  at 
all  times  great  pleasure  to  hear  from  you,  and 
the  more  minute  and  circumstantial  your  de- 
tails are,  so  much  the  more  agreeable  to  me, 
who  am  indeed  much  interested  in  everything 
that  concern  my  much-loved  and  much-re- 
gretted parish.  I  am  glad  to  observe  from 
you,  that  the  printed  Address  was  not  unac- 
ceptable to  many.    It  has  excited  a  good  deaJ 


58  THE  MISSIONARY   OF   KILMANT. 

of  speculation  botli  in  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh, 
and  I  confess  I  should  have  been  better  pleased 
had  I  heard  of  its  practical  impression  on  the 
consciences  and  lives  of  some  readers,  than  of 
all  these  approvals  and  objections  which  im- 
ply nothing  more  than  an  anxiety  to  give  the 
truths  I  have  brought  forward  a  right  adjust- 
ment in  their  speculative  system.  It  would 
comfort  me  much  to  know  that  it  told  practi- 
cally  on  a  willing  and  obedient  people  in  your 
neighborhood.  If  it  has  no  other  effect  than 
to  set  them  a-doing,  and  be  satisfied  with 
themselves,  it  does  mischief ;  and  sorry  should 
I  be,  if  in  my  attempt  to  divide  the  word  of 
truth,  I  have  failed  in  giving  the  faith,  the  hu- 
mility, the  godliness  of  the  New  Testament, 
that  high  supremacy  which  belongs  to  them. 
O,  my  dear  sir,  never  forget,  that,  while  called 
upon  to  be  strong,  it  is  to  be  strong  in  the 
grace  that  is  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  Have  your 
eye  ever  directed  to  Him  as  the  clear  fountain 
out  of  whose  supplies  you  obtain  strength  for 
doing  everything  aright.     Go  to  God  on  the 


k.^ 


DR.   CHALMERS.  59 

firm  gi'ound  of  His  rigliteonsness,  as  your  alone 
plea  for  acceptance  before  Him ;  and  remem- 
ber tbat  it  is  only  tbrougli  tlie  channel  of  His 
mediatorship  that  you  get  the  washing  of  re- 
generation, and  that  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  lie  at  the  bottom  of  all  right  and 
spiritual  obedience. 

"  I  was  in  Edinburgh  a  fortnight  ago,  giv- 
ing a  little  assistance  at  their  sacraments. 
From  the  top  of  the  Carlton  Hill  I  saw  ISTor- 
manlaw,  an  object  visible  from  the  west  win- 
dow of  my  manse.  Dr.  Jones  was  with  me, 
but  this  did  not  hinder  me  from  gazing  on  the 
pinnacle  with  a  most  eager  direction  of  my 
heart,  to  that  dear  vale  which  stretches  east- 
ward from  its  base.  0  with  what  vivid  re- 
membrance can  I  wander  in  thought  over  all 
its  farms,  and  all  its  families,  and  dwell  on  the 
kind  and  simple  affection  of  its  people,  till  the 
contemplation  becomes  too  bitter  for  my  en- 
durance— and  contrast  the  days  which  now 
are,  with  the  days  which  once  were,  when  I 
Bat  embosomed  in  tranquillity  and  friendship, 


60  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

and  could  divide  my  whole  time  iDetween  the 
r  pursuits  of  sacred  literature,  and  tlie  work  of 
dealing  out  simple  and  spiritual  teaching 
among  my  affectionate  parishioners.  This 
system  is  now,  I  grieve  to  say  it,  greatly 
broken  up,  and  one  must  either  signalize  him- 
self by  resisting  every  established  practice,  or 
spend  a  heartless,  hard-driving,  distracting, 
and  wearing-out  life  among  the  bustle  of  un- 
ministerial  work,  and  no  less  unministerial 
company.  I  do  not  know  what  it  will  come 
to,  but  I  can  easily  perceive  that  I  shall  not  be 
right  till  I  get  myself  emancipated  from  the 
multiplied  drudgery  of  these  ever-recurring 
avocations.  And  should  I  obtain  this  emanci- 
pation, then  I  grant  you  that  Glasgow  is  a 
highly  interesting  field:  that  much  kindness 
and  much  principle  are  to  be  found  in  it ;  that 
the  good  which  is  to  be  done,  and  the  good 
which  might  be  done,  are  iacalculable.  And 
that  I  have  already  met  with  individuals  in 
whom  I  can  enjoy  all  that  undisguised  sin- 
cerity of  friendship,  and  all  that  sympathy 


DE.   CHALMERS.  61 

of  Christian  feeling^,  wliicli  so  often  cheered  and 

a; 

refreshed  me  when  I  lived  in  jour  village, 
and  could  obtain,  at  a  call,  the  benefit  and 
the.  pleasure  of  your  evening  conversations. 

"  When  you  see  Alexander  Paterson,  charge 
him  in  my  name  to  hold  fast  his  profession.  I 
trust  you  will  encourage  and  support  each 
other,  and  much  good  may  your  example, 
your  exertions,  and  your  prayers,  do  to  the 
neighborhood  around  you.  You  cannot  min- 
ister a  richer  comfort  to  my  heart,  than  to  tell 
me  of  individuals  giving  evidence  of  a  saving 
change.  I  heard  Alexander  Paterson  speak 
well  of  the  coach-driver  in  Montquhanny.  I 
trust  that  there  are  no  backslidings  among 
you ;  and  it  is  my  fervent  and  daily  prayer, 
that  God  would  rain  down  righteousness  upon 
your  much-loved  land.  I  throw  myself  upon 
your  intercessions  ;  I  beg  that  you  will  think 
of  me,  and  pray  for  me,  that  God  would  give 
me  wisdom  amid  all  the  darknesses,  and  un- 
certainties, and  difficulties  which  surround  me. 
What  I  stand  greatly  in  want  of  is  the  meek- 

6 


62  THE   MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

ness  of  wisdom;  tlie  Christian  grace  of  being 
gentle  with  all  men — patient  with  the  many 
imdoubted  corruptions  which  exist  in  this 
place,  while  still  mildly  persevering,  and  calm- 
ly determined  to  make  head  against  them. 

"  All  our  friends  here  are  well,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  pretty  general  cold  that  is  now 
lingering  about  several  of  the  family.  The 
weather  is  intensely  cold,  but  as  there  is  no 
wind,  and  the  smoke  of  the  public  works  gets 
condensed  by  the  frost,  it  falls  in  thick  clouds 
upon  the  city,  and  there  is  a  darkness  visible 
sitting  on  all  the  streets,  and  covering  every 
house  with  a  dark  envelop  of  minute  dusty 
particles.  The  population  at  large  go  about 
as  briskly  in  it  as  ever,  and  seem  to  be  breath- 
ing a  congenial  atmosphere. 

'^  Give  my  very  best  and  most  cordial  re- 
membrance to  your  father,  mother.  Miss  Edie, 
Miss  Euphemia,  and  Miss  Hay,  and  every  one 
of  your  brothers  without  exception.  I  shall 
not  name  all  my  dear  friends  and  fellow-Chris- 
tians whom  I  want  you  to  salute  in  my  name, 


DK.   CHALMEKS.  '  63 

but  I  beg  you  will  just  go  over  all  wbom  I 
have  named  in  mj  former  letters.  And  with 
every  assurance  of  regard  to  yourself,  believe 
me  to  be,  my  very  dear  Sir,  yours  with  sincere 
affection,  Thomas  Chalmees." 

"  Mrs.  Chalmers  received  Miss  Edie's  letter, 
and  is  much  obliged  to  her  for  it.  Will  you 
give  my  best  compliments  to  Mr.  Cook,  and 
tell  him  that  I  mean  to  write  him  in  a  few  days. 
Do  write  me  soon,  and  remember  that  I  admit 
of  no  blank  space  in  letters  ;  I  would  rather 
that  you  crossed  them.  What  though  you 
should  begin  now,  and  eke  out  a  few  sentences 
every  day,  till  you  completed  your  budget.  I 
love  dearly  to  hear  from  you,  and  it  is  a  cor- 
dial to  me,  in  a  place,  too,  where  I  stand  in 
need  of  cordials.' — ^T.  C." 

Assured  of  his  tenderest  sympathy,  the 
ploughman  had  been  unbosoming  to  Dr.  Chal- 
mers his  various  spiritual  conflicts  and  joys. 
The  letter  elicited  the  following  reply  :■ — 


I 
64  THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMAinT. 

"  Glasgow,  January  15,  1816. 

"  Deak  Saunders, — ^I  was  greatly  deliglited 
with  your  very  kind  letter,  and  I  fondly  hope 
that  though  the  first,  it  will  not  be  the  last, 
and  will  at  all  times  feel  much  obliged  to  you 
by  writing  me  how  your  health  prospereth, 
and  how  your  soul  prospereth,  and  how  in  the 
exercise  of  looking  to  the  things  of  others,  as 
well  as  to  your  own  things,  you  find  the  good 
work  of  faith  and  of  repentance  going  on  in 
the  neighborhood  around  you.  Never  cease 
the  good  work  of  being  a  fellow- worker  with  » 
Christ  in  that  which  His  heart  is  set  upon — 
even  the  gathering  of  a  people  unto  Himself 
out  of  a  sinful  and  ruined  world.  This  is 
what  you  owe  to  Him  who  has  done  so  much 
for  you.  In  the  prosecution  of  this  business 
mix  discretion  with  zeal ;  and  remember  that 
he  who  offers  so  much  encouragement  to  the 
work  of  turning  a  sinner  from  his  way,  says 
also,  Lay  hand  on  no  man  suddenly. 

"  Since  my  coming  to  Glasgow,  I  had  ex- 
erted myself  too  much  in  preaching,  and  the 


DE.   CHALMERS.  65 

effect  was  such  a  degree  of  Tinwellness,  as  ob- 
liged me  to  live  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  country. 
I  have  come'  back  perfectly  restored,  and  made 
my  first  great  attempt  in  the  way  of  being 
more  moderate  in  my  exertions  yesterday.  I 
completely  succeeded,  was  very  slightly  fatigued 
in  the  evening ;  and  this  day,  which  is  Mon- 
day, I  find  mj^self  quite  fresh  and  well.  Should 
I  be  enabled  to  keep  moderate  in  all  time 
coming,  I  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful 
that  I  have  a  pretty  fair  prospect  of  having  my 
strength  fully  equal  to  the  fatigues  of  my 
situation.  This  is  a  very  interesting  field  to  a 
minister — a  mass  of  profligacy  and  wickedness 
in  its  most  revolting  form — relieved  by  occa- 
sional bright  and  refreshing  examples  of  all 
that  is  pure,  and  lovely,  and  honorable,  and 
of  good  report.  There  is  much  to  pain  me, 
and  much  to  attach  and  encourage  me  in  my 
new  situation.  But  I  cannot  forget  the  much- 
loved  parish  I  have  left,  and  it  is  still  my  firm 
intention  to  spend  in  summer  a  few  weeks 
among  you. 

6* 


66  THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMAXY. 

''It  grieves  me  to  hear  botli  from  Misa 
Collier  and  from  Mr.  Cook,  the  very  heavy 
affliction  with  which  you  have  been  visited. 
Is  it  the  brother  whom  I  knew  that  you  have 
lost?  It  is  my  prayer  that  this  melancholy 
event  may  be  sanctified  to  all  your  friends — 
that  your  father  and  mother  may  receive 
largely  of  that  consolation  which  cometh  from 
God  only — and  that  the  warning,  felt  in  all  its 
force  by  many  of  the  neighbors,  may  carry 
their  hearts  and  their  choice  to  the  one  thing 
needful. 

"I  repeat  it,  that  I  shall  be  at  all  times 
most  happy  to  hear  from  you.  I  beg  you  to 
be  watchful  and  diligent,  and  in  every  exer- 
tion of  strength  to  look  unto  Him  who  gave 
you  that  strength,  and  who  alone  can  increase 
and  perpetuate  it.  I  rejoice  in  your  good  ac- 
counts of  Eeekie  and  his  wife.  Give  them  a 
word  of  remembrance  from  me.  Tell  Mr. 
Eobert  Edie  that  I  shall  *ever  hold  him  in  the 
most  affectionate  remembrance.  I  hope  he  will 
keep  steadfast  with  God.     Give  my  best  re- 


DR.   CHALMERS.  67 

gards  to  Miss  Collier  and  Mrs.  Coutts  when 
you  see  them.  My  prayers  are  for  you,  and 
for  all  your  friends  and  fellow-Christians.  I 
am  glad  to  observe  that  you  are  making  such 
a  good  use  of  Baxter.  I  beheve  he,  who 
though  dead  yet  speaketh,  has  been  the  instru- 
ment of  turning  many  thousands  from  sin  unto 
righteousness. — I  am,  dear  Saunders,  yours 
with  great  regard, 

''  Thomas  Chalmers." 

A  month  later,  Dr.  Chalmers  again  writes  to 
Mr.  Edie : — 

"  Glasgow^  February  13,  1816. 
"  My  Dearest  Sir, — It  is  now  long  since  I 
heard  from  the  parish  of  Kilmany,  and  I  am 
desirous  of  having  some  intelligence  respecting 
you  all.  Be  assured  that  it  is  not  possible  to 
be  too  minute  in  your  communications,  and  I 
am  quite  certain  that  in  three  months  there 
must  have  changes  occurred  to  interest  me. 
May  I  request,  therefore,  that  you  set  yourself 
down  to  a  long  letter  immediately  on  the  re- 


68  THE  MISSIONARY   OF   KILMANY. 

ceipt  of  this,  and  send  me  a  well-filled  budget 
of  n(Mvs  from  my  dear  and  much-loved  Kil- 
.many — every  path,  and  cottage,  and  family  of 
which  I  bear  in  the  liveliest  characters  upon 
my  remembrance,  and  in  all  the  individuals 
of  which  I  shall  ever  take  a  deep  and  a  heart- 
felt concern. 

"  I  was  complaining  a  little  some  weeks  ago, 
but  I  am  quite  myself  again.  Let  me  just  be 
as  moderate  as  I  might  be  in  the  pulpit,  and  I 
need  to  incur  as  httle  fatigue  in  preaching  here 
as  at  Kjlmany. 

"I  have  commenced  a  very  stupendous  work 
lately,  the  visitation  of  my  parish.  As  far  as 
my  estimate  goes,  I  think  its  population  must 
consist  of  upwards  of  12,000.  It  is  quite  im- 
possible to  subdivide  the  matter  as  I  did  at 
Kilmany,  and  the  way  in  which  I  am  carrying 
it  into  effect,  is  by  going  into  every  house  and 
asking  a  very  few  questions  relative  to  their 
numbers  and  the  Church  which  they  attend, 
and  after  I  have  gone  over  one  district  belong- 
ing to  an  elder,  I  assemble  all  the  people  of 


BB,   CHALMEES.  69 

that  district,  to  the  amount  of  1000  and  up- 
wards, and  preach  a  sermon  to  them.  There 
is  a  very  great  proportion  of  them  who  hav^ 
no  seats  in  any  place  of  public  worship  what- 
ever, and  a  very  deep  and  universal  ignorance 
on  the  high  matters  of  faith  and  of  eternity, 
obtains  over  the  whole  extent  of  a  mighty 
population.  I  have  been  sometimes  greatly 
depressed  with  the  wretched  accounts  of  profli- 
gacy which  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  and 
have  much  need,  my  dear  sir,  of  your  prayers, 
that  I  may  be  kept  humble,  and  earnest,  and 
singly  desirous  of  my  Master's  glory  in  this 
field  where  the  kingdom  of  darkness  is  so  tri- 
umphant. There  are  some  decided  Christians, 
however,  in  the  place ;  and  it  is  much  for  one's 
comfort,  and  I  believe  usefulness  too,  to  keep 
as  much  by  their  society  as  possible.  The  tone 
of  the  world  is  deeply  and  deceivingly  infec- 
tious, and  I  would  strongly  advise  you  to  mul- 
tiply your  Christian  associations  to  as  great  an 
extent  as  circumstances  will  permit.  It  must 
be  a  great  comfort  to  you  to  have  the  occasional 


70  THE   MISSIONAKY  OF   KILMANY. 

converse  of  Alexander  Paterson,  who,  I  pre- 
sume, is  still  at  little  Dron.  Give  him  Iny 
friendliest  compliments,  and  be  assured  that  I 
shall  ever  retain  a  very  warm  remembrance 
both  of  you  and  of  him.  May  you  often  hold 
sweet  counsel  together,  and  may  much  solid 
fruit  come  out  of  it.  May  you  be  instruments 
for  good  in  your  respective  circles,  and  God 
grant  that  a  numerous  seed  to  serve  Him  may 
arise  among  the  families  of  your  neighborhood. 
"  I  have  heard  much  of  the  depressed  state 
of  the  agricultural  interest.  The  mercantile 
interest,  which  I  count  to  be  altogether  de- 
pendent on  the  former,  is  beginning  to  suffer 
severely  in  this  town.  This  day  there  have 
eight  principal  houses  stopped  payment,  and 
from  the  intimate  state  of  connection  between 
the  different  traders,  a  very  great  alarm  and 
anxiety  prevail  amongst  us.  This  is  a  suitable 
field  for  the  lesson,  '  Why  carest  thou  for  the 
things  of  to-morrow?'  I  have  not  forgotten 
your  statement  of  your  own  mind  respecting 
a  worldly  provision,  and  I  trust  you  will  never 


DR.   CHxVLMERS.  71 

suffer  the  weight  of  anxiety,  on  this  point,  to 
choke  the  good  seed  of  the  Word  of  God.  It 
is  a  weight  which  should  be  thrown  aside, 
along  with  the  others  that  we  are  commanded 
to  put  awaj.  The  cares  of  the  world  are  men- 
tioned along  with  the  deceitfulness  of  riches, 
and  the  lusts  of  other  things,  in  the  parable  of 
the  sower,  and  it  would  give  me  pleasure, 
should  the  lesson  of  confidence  in  God — the 
fall  warrant  He  has  given  us  to  pray  belie v- 
ingly  for  daily  bread — 'the  injunction  if  we 
have  food  and  raiment  to  be  therewith  content 
- — ^it  would  give  me  great  pleasure  if  these  told 
on  the  peace,  and  gave  evidence  to  the  faith 
of  my  old  parish,  under  its  languishing  -tnte 
as  to  worldly  matters ;  and  while  their  outer 
condition  decayeth,  I  trust  that  their  inner  con- 
dition will  be  receiving  daily  improvements, 
that  they  will  be  rich  towards  God — ^rich  in 
faith — rich  in  the  well-grounded  hope  of  an 
enduring  substance — rejoicing  under  manifold 
tribulations,  and  evincing  an  exultation  of 
principle  which    carries    its    possessor    to  a 


72  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMAXY. 

heiglit  of  serene  superiority  above  all  the  acci- 
dents, and  all  tlie  crosses,  and  all  the  gloomy 
prosj)ects  of  a  time  which,  has  brought  much 
poverty,  and  much  disappointment  along  with 
it. 

"  Give  my  best  compliments  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Edie,  Miss  Edie,  and  all  the  rest  of  your  family. 
"Will  yon  remember  me  to  Mr.  Lees  when  you 
see  him  ?  I  coiild  name  the  whole  village  had 
I  room  for  it. — I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  with 
much  regard,  Thomas  Chalmers." 

One  other  letter  from  Dr.  Chalmers  we  must 
give,— 

"  Glasgow,  April  3,  1819. 

"  My  Dear  Sir, — ^Yours  of  March  29,  I  re- 
ceived yesterday,  but  not  by  the  hand  of  your 
brother,  whom  I  should  have  been  most  happy 
to  see  and  to  converse  with,  previous  to  his 
first  entrance  upon  the  world.  Neither  have 
I  seen  John ;  and  little  do  they  know  how 
happy  I  am  to  come  into  contact  with  any 
memorial  from  the  parish  of  Kilmany.     Your 


DR.   CHALMERS.  73* 

letter  came  to  me  bj  post  with  the  Greenock 
mark  upon  it,  from  which  I  infer  that  Arthur 
had  gone  direct  to  Greenock  without  seeing 
me,  having  perhaps  no  time  to  call.  I  have 
the  very  kindest  recollection  of  him,  poor  fel- 
low, from  having  been  mj  conductor  to  Cupar 
at  mj  last  visit  to  jour  house. 

"  I  am  much  pleased  to  understand  both  of 
your  lease  and  your  father's.  I  am  glad  of 
anything  that  keeps  my  old  neighborhood,  in 
respect  of  its  families  and  people,  as  near  as 
possible  to  what  it  was ;  so  that  when  I  revisit 
it,  I  shall  not  feel  strange  and  desolate  in  the 
midst  of  my  favorite  recollections. 

"But  let  us  never  forget  that  whether  re- 
moval comes  or  not,  death  will.  Let  us  be  ap- 
plying in  good  earnest  to  the  work  of  prepara- 
tion. We  are  in  danger  of  having  only  a 
name  to  live — of  lulling  ourselves  asleep  by 
the  mere  cadence  of  orthodoxy — of  calling 
Christ  Lord,  while  we  follow  him  not  as  such 
— of  being  sunk  in  camahty  and  spiritual' 
sloth,  and   that   too  while  we  recognise  all 

n 


74  THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY. 

the  truths,  and  are  present  at  all  the  ordin- 
ances. 

*'  Heaven  is  no  heaven  at  all  but  to  the  holy. 
'  The  unholy  could  not  enjoy  it.  It  derives  all 
its  blessedness  from  the  gratification  of  spirit- 
ual affections ;  and  how  can  we  be  preparing 
for  it  if  our  affections  remain  earthly,  sensual, 
grovelling  ? 

"  Let  us  stir  one  another  up  to  watchfulness 
and  prayer,  and  all  the  exercises  of  a  life  of 
faith. 

"  Give  my  kindest  compliments  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Edie.  Did  Miss  Edie  get  a  small  pamph- 
let that  I  intended  for  her  ?  I  trust  that  poor 
Alexander  will  get  through  his  illness.  What 
an  opportunity  it  gives  you  of  close  and  affec- 
tionate dealing  with  him  I  My  kindest  com- 
phments  to  Alexander  Paterson,  and  all  others 
for  whose  names  I  have  no  room ;  but  whose 
resemblances  are  at  this  moment  warmly,  and 
deeply,  and  vividly  impressed  upon  my  most 
affectionate  remembrance. — ^Yours  very  truly, 

"Thomas  Chalmeks." 


DR.  CHALMERS.  75 

"  Oh  liow  deliglitful  it  is,"  we  find  Alexan- 
der Paterson  writing  to  Dr.  Chalmers  on  19th 
January,  1821,  "  to  be  justified  by  faith  I  then 
we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Yes,  I  feel  great  peace  and  joy 
in  believing  on  Him  who  has  plucked  me  as 
a  brand  from  the  devil,  when  at  that  time  I 
was  his  willing  servant,  a  total  stranger  to  the 
covenant  of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and 
without  Cod  in  the  world.  How  blessed  to 
feel  the  Spirit  of  Cod  witnessing  with  our 
spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  Cod !  I  can 
feel  in  some  measure  that  I  am  dead  with 
Christ.  I  am  crucified  with  Christ ;  neverthe- 
less I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  hveth  in  me. 
My  spiritual  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  Cod. 
I  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  I  shall  ap- 
pear with  him  in  glory.  Oh  the'  love  of 
Christ !  It  passeth  knowledge  and  all  under- 
standing." 

These  were  no  mere  meaningless  words. 
They  were  the  outpouring  of  his  inmost  soul. 
"  My  dear  sir,"  he  adds,  *'  these  are  my  feel- 


76  THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANT. 

ings,  and  wliat  I  experience.  I  would  not 
sound  them  in  tlie  ears  of  a  world  lying  in 
wickedness,  althougli  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ ;  but  I  feel  no  restraint  in  un- 
bosoming mj  feelings  to  you." 

In  the  sequel  of  the  letter  he  gives — what 
he  knew  his  correspondent  chiefly  would  de- 
light in — some  "  spiritual  news."  "  Our  Sab- 
bath-evening class,"  he  writes,  "  is  still  going 
on ;  and  I  am  very  happy  to  inform  you  that 
I  have  got  one  commenced  in  Kilmany  within 
these  few  weeks.  The  number  amounts  to 
twenty." 

From  that  class  he  already  had  gathered 
fruit.  "  When  I  met  with  her,"  he  goes  on  to 
say,  alluding  to  a  member  of  the  class,  "  she 
seemed  to  be  like  the  great  bulk  of  the  world, 
away  from  God ; — ^but  one  Sabbath,  when  I 
was  at  Kilmany,  she  invited  me  to  call  upon 
her ;  this  I  did, — a  conversation  was  started, — 
I  spoke  to  her  about  our  dreadful  state  by  na- 
ture— ^that  we  are  the  children  of  wrath — that 
the  wrath  of  God  lieth  upon  us — and  that  it 


DR.   CHALMERS.,  77 

burns  to  the  lowest  hell.  The  tears  flowed 
down  her  cheeks  ;  she  cried, '  What  must  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?'  I  pointed  her  to  the  Lamb  of 
God ;  and  she  has  fled  to  Him  and  found 
peace." 

In  another  letter  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  dated  a 
few  months  later,  he  writes  : — "  I  must  confess 
that  I  do  feel  lurking  in  my  heart  much  unbe- 
lief, which  makes  me  to  feel  a  darkness  and  a 
deadness  to  come  across  mj  soul ;  but  this  is 
only  at  times.  And  how  delightful,  after  such 
an  eclipse,  when  the  sun  of  righteousness 
arises  and  dispels  the  mist  which  covers  the 
soul !  Then  none  but  Christ  can  satisfy  the 
immense  desires  of  my  heart.  I  feel  at  times 
such  refreshing  consolations  in  God  as  mani- 
fested in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  that  I  long  for 
a  full  draught  of  the  river  of  pleasures  which 
are  in  His  presence.  0  the  sweet  relishes  of 
the  soul,  when  spirituality  reigns  in  it !  There 
is  a  purer  sweetness  in  mortifying  the  flesh 
and  subduing  its  lusts — in  dying  to  the  world 
and  living  to  God — in  loving,  and  praying,  and 

7* 


78  THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANT. 

meditating — ^in  trusting  in  the  Lord  with  all 
my  heart,  and  walking  humbly  with  my  God, 
than  in  all  the  pleasures  of  sin  or  the  perishing 
pleasures  of  sense.  0  to  partake  of  divine  de- 
lights as  they  flow  immediately  from  God  I" 

The  next  letter  to  Dr.  Chalmers  gives  an  in- 
teresting glimpse  into  the  home  of  Eobert 
Edie.  The  reader  may  not  be  unwilling  to 
have  it  before  him  in  its  full  proportions,  as  a 
specimen  of  the  ploughman's  letter- writing : — 

''Dron,  May  9,  1823. 

"  Dear  and  Eev.  Sir, — I  do  with  pleasure 
take  up  my  pen  to  write  you  a  few  lines,  to 
inform  you  that  I  am  in  good  health,  and  I 
trust  I  may  say  that  I  feel  that  the  health  of 
my  soul  is  on  the  increase.  I  do  feel  great 
peace  in  believing  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Truly  I  may  say,  that  wisdom's  ways  are 
ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 
peace. 

"  Dear  sir,  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  paying  a  visit  to  my  dear 


DE.   CHALMEKS.  79 

friend,  Eobert  Edie,  last  Lord's  day — the  hap- 
piest day  that  ever  I  spent  in  my  life.  I  hope 
I  will  never  forget  it.  I  felt  my  soul  greatly 
enlivened,  and  it  has  been  ever  since.  0  sir, 
he  is  truly  a  man  of  God.  Yon  is  surely  the 
little  leaven  that  is  leavening  the  whole  lump. 

"  I  was  greatly  delighted  with  his  school ; 
lie  has  forty-two  scholars,  and  they  seem  to 
improve  very  much  in  knowledge,  and  to  be 
much  in  earnest  about  the  thing.  After  he  is 
over  with  this  exercise,  he  calls  his  household 
together,  and  causes  them  to  read  the  Word  of 
God.  And  not  only  all  this,  but  he  has  a 
prayer-meeting  every  fortnight,  and  he  meets 
with  them  and  prays  with  them.  There  are 
about  nine  of  them. 

"Oh,  it  is  a  Bethel  where  God  indeed  de- 
lighteth  to  dwell.  He  is  a  growing  Christian 
in  the  divine  life.  And  how  delightful  to  be* 
hold  him  clothed  with  humility  from  the  crown 
of  the  head  to  the  sole  of  the  foot !  O  sir,  you 
have  great  cause  to  rejoice  that  you  proclaimed 
the  gospel  in  Kilmany ;  for  I  assure  you  that 


80  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

it  has  been  the  power  of  God  to  his  salvation, 
He  is  one  that  will  be  a  seal  that  you  did  not 
labor  in  vain.  Oh  what  a  praise  will  that  be 
to  you  when  God  shall  make  up  His  jewels ! 

*'  I  trust  that  many  will  be  enabled  to  be- 
lieve on  Jesus  through  his  word.  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  am  very  far  behind  him.  I  am  al- 
most ashamed  of  myself  that  I  am  making  so 
little  progress  in  the  divine  life.  Oh  that  the 
Spirit  would  stir  me  up  to  more  diligence,  that 
I  may  be  enabled  to  go  on  from  one  degree  of 
grace  unto  another.  Oh  for  more  faith !  Oh 
that  the  love  of  God  may  be  shed  abroad  more 
and  more  in  my  heart,  that  it  may  constrain 
me  to  live,  not  to  myself,  but  to  Him  who  died 
for  me ! 

"  Dear  sir,  the  manse  people  have  all  been 
very  unwell,  but  they  are  better ;  only  Miss 
Collier,  she  is  just  now  very  unwell.  She  is 
truly  a  heaven-born  soul.  My  prayer  for  you 
and  your  family  is,  that  you  all  may  be  inter- 
ested in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  May  the  gos- 
pel which  you  preach  prove  the  power  of  God 


DK.   CHALMERS.  81 

unto  their  salvation ;  tliat  you  wlio  sow,  and 
the  J  who  reap,  may  be  made  to  rejoice  to- 
gether ;  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  say  at  last, 
Here  am  I  and  the  spiritual  children  whom 
thou  hast  given  me ! — I  remain  your  humble 
and  obedient  servant, 

"  Sandie  Paterson." 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  when  that  letter 
was  written,  Dr.  Chalmers  was  removed  from 
the  pulpit  of  St.  John's  in  Glasgow,  to  the 
chair  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  St.  Andrews. 
On  his  way  to  St.  Andrews,  he  paid  a  visit  to 
Dairsie-moor.  Saunders  and  Eobert  Edie  ac- 
companied him  to  a  neighboring  village,  and, 
as  they  went  along,  were  expressing  freely 
their  views  as  to  his  removal. 

"  I  don't  think,"  said  Saunders,  "  that  you 
should  give  up  preaching  for  teaching." 

"  Let  me  ask  you  a  question,  Saunders,"  re- 
joined the  doctor :  "  does  the  man  who  salts  a 
pig,  or  the  man  who  makes  the  salt  that  will 
salt  many  pigs,  do  the  greatest  service  ?" 


82  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

"  The  man  who  makes  tlie  salt,  to  be  sure.''' 
"Well,  I've  all  tliis  time  been  salting  the 

pig,  and  now  I'm  going  to  make  the  salt." 
"Then  the  sooner  you're  in  the  salt-pans, 

sir,  the  better." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Faithful  Servant — "Allowable  Purloining"— "Not  with  Eye» 
Service" — Illness— The  Cup  of  Cold  Water— Evangelistic  Labors— A 
New  Field — The  Conference — The  Reluctant  Assent— Graduate  in 
School  of  Christ— The  "  Stricken  Deer"—"  Wholly  to  Prayer." 

"Ye  servants,"  said  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  liis 
closing  address  to  the  people  of  Kilmanj,  vin- 
dicating the  gospel  as  the  only  sure  basis  of  a 
sound  morality,  "  ye  servants  whose  scrupulous 
fidelity  has  now  attracted  the  notice,  and 
drawn  forth  in  my  hearing  a  delightful  testi- 
mony from  your  masters,  what  mischief  you 
would  have  done,  had  your  zeal  for  doctrines 
and  sacraments  been  accompanied  by  the 
slothfulness  and  the  remissness,  and  what,  in 
the  prevailing  tone  of  moral  relaxation,  is 
counted  the  allowable  purloining  of  your 
earlier  days !  But  a  sense  of  your  heavenly 
Master's  eye  has  brought  another  influence  to 


84  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

bear  Tipon  you.  .  .  .  You  liave  taught  me  tliat 
to  preach  Christ  is  the  only  effective  way  ol 
preaching  morahty  in  all  its  branches."  The 
ploughman  of  Kilmany  was  such  a  servant. 
"  Sure  I  am,"  we  find  him  writing  to  his  friend 
Eobert  Edie,  "  that  they  who  are  faithful  to 
their  heavenly  Master,  will  be  faithfal  to  their 
earthly  master.  May  we  look  not  at  our  own 
things,  but  at  the  things  of  others."  He  served 
his  earthly  master,  "  not  with  eye-service,  as  a 
man-pleaser,  but  as  a  servant  of  Christ,  doing 
the  will  of  God  from  the  heart."  He  truly 
"adorned  the  doctrine."  Indeed,  during  all 
the  time  of  his  occupation  as  a  ploughman,  the 
only  fault  which  could  be  found  with  him  was, 
that,  in  his  anxiety  to  work,  he  so  overtasked 
his  strength  that  his  constitution  was  broken 
down. 

After  nine  years  spent  in  Dairsie,  he  had  re- 
moved to  a  farm  four  miles  distant  from  New- 
burgh,  having  previously  married  one,  who,  in 
all  the  trials  and  labors  of  subsequent  years, 
proved  a  true  help-meet  to  him. 


THE  FAITHFUL  SEEVANT.  85 

Never  had  lie  encountered  sucli  difficulties 
as  now.  He  labored  partly  at  the  plough  and 
partly  in  filling  hot  lime.  Having  been  seized 
with  a  severe  inflammation,  he,  in  his  anxiety 
to  resume  his  work,  went  out  in  a  state  of 
such  bodily  weakness,  that  he  was  again  pros- 
trated under  an  illness  which  confined  him  to 
his  bed  for  a  period  of  six  months. 

Though  now  in  a  part  of  the  country  where 
he  was  a  total  stranger,  the  Lord  raised  up  for 
him,  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Pitcairn  of  Kin- 
naird,  a  friend  who  cared  for  him  for  the  Mas- 
ter's sake.  Often,  in  the  darkness  of  a  winter 
evening,  might  one  of  the  female  members  of 
that  family  be  seen  crossing  the  fields,  accom- 
panied by  a  servant  bearing  a  lantern,  on  her 
way  to  the  humble  cottage,  to  visit  and  to  aid 
its  afflicted  inmates.  The  cup  of  cold  water 
was  doubly  sweet  to  him ;  it  came  so  plainly 
from  the  Lord's  own  hand. 

His  strength  began  to  return,  and  he  was 
again  at  the  plough  and  at  the  kiln.  But  the 
fatigue  was  too  great  for  him.    After  a  day 

8 


86  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMAITT. 

and  a  half's  work,  lie  was  once  more  laid  aside 
by  an  inflammation  wMcli  brought  him  to  the 
very  verge  of  the  grave.  Anew  raised  up,  he 
continued  to  labor  for  other  two  years,  but 
feeling  day  by  day  that  under  the  pressure  of 
such  work  his  enfeebled  frame  must  ere  long 
sink. 

The  Master  was  fitting  him,  by  these  afflic- 
tions, to  be  a  still  more  earnest  reaper  in  His 
fields. 

Even  in  the  midst  of  his  hard  labor  he  had 
continued,  in  meetings  and  in  the  Sabbath 
classes,  to  plead  with  precious  souls.  "  I  am 
happy  to  inform  you,"  we  find  him  writing  to 
a  friend  on  25th  May,  1826,  "  that  our  Sab- 
bath-school is  coming  on  well,  though  we  have 
some  opposition.  Our  scholars  are  improving 
remarkably  in  knowledge.  A  great  number 
of  hearers  come.  They  crowd  us  so  much, 
that  I  have  been  obliged  to  put  a  stop  to  them ; 
and  numbers  of  them  shed  tears  at  being  stop- 
ped." 

But  another  field  was  now  opened  up.    In 


NEW  FIELD.  87 

1827,  Dr.  Clialmers  had  removed  to  Edinburgh. 
Among  other  friends  whose  Christian  sympa- 
thies he  had  enlisted  on  behalf  of  the  many 
outcast  families  crowded  into  the  filthy  closes 
abounding  in  its  "  old  town,"  was  a  lady*  who 
offered  to  support  at  her  own  expense  a  mis- 
sionary whom  he  might  select  to  labor  in  one 
of  the  most  destitute  districts.  Dr.  Chalmers 
at  once  thought  of  Alexander  Paterson. 

But  how  was  he  to  persuade  him  to  under- 
take the  work?  He  sent  for  Eobert  Edie. 
After  detailing  to  him  the  proposed  arrange- 
ment, he  commissioned  him  to  proceed  to 
Dunbog  and  obtain  his  friend's  consent. 

Mr.  Edie  arrived,  one  evening,  as  the  plough- 
man was  coming  in  from  the  fields,  worn  out 
with  excessive  toil.  He  broached  the  propo- 
sal. The  allowance  offered  was  competence 
itself,  compared  with  the  pittance  he  was  earn- 
ing at  the  plough — a  pittance  too,  which  each 
successive  year  was  rendering  more  precarious 

*  Lady  Grace  Douglas,  mother  of  James  Douglas  of  Ca 
vers,  Esquire. 


88  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

by  reason  of  his  failing  liealtli.  Besides,  tlie 
liberty  to  devote  bis  wbole  time  to  direct  mis- 
sionary labor — what  prospect  more  inviting  to 
an  earnest  soul  like  bis !  But  was  be  fitted 
for  sucb  a  work?  Was  be  called  of  God? 
That  point  was  not  yet  settled.  And  so,  no 
sooner  did  Eobert  deliver  Dr.  Chalmers'  mes- 
sage than  be  gave  it  a  decided  negative. 

The  evening  was  spent  by  the  two  friends 
in  earnest  colloquy,  mingled  with  fervent 
prayer. 

"  YoTir  heart,  yon  know,"  said  Robert,  ''  has 
long  been  set  on  this  sort  of  work.  You  have 
been  doing  it  hitherto  at  the  odds  and  ends 
of  your  time ;  and  now  it  will  be  your  sole 
employment." 

"  True,"  replied  Saunders,  '^  nothing  is  nearer 
my  heart  than  work  o'  this  kind ;  I  would 
gladly  spend  and  be  spent  in  it ;  but  I  am  not 
fit  to  be  a  missionary — I  dauma  tak'  upon  me 
such  a  post." 

"  But  the  Lord  is  calling  you  to  it :  remem- 
ber it's  His  business  to  send  his  own  servants." 


NEW  FIELD.  89 

"  Yes,  man ;  but  I'm  a  child ;  I  canna 
speak." 

"Yery  true,"  was  Eobert's  reply, — ^and  as 
lie  spoke,  lie  opened  tlie  Bible  wbicli  lay  on 
the  table  beside  them,  at  Jer.  i.  7, — "  but  you 
remember  that  passage  in  the  Word,  '  The 
Lord  said  unto  me.  Say  not  I  am  a  child; 
for  thou  shalt  go  to  all  that  I  shall  send  thee, 
and  whatsoever  I  command  thee  thou  shalt 
speak.' " 

Late  in  the  evening,  he  at  length  wrung 
from  him  a  reluctant  consent,  and  went  home 
intending  to  communicate  to  Dr.  Chalmers 
next  morning  the  result  of  the  interview. 

Scarcely  had  his  friend  left  the  cottage,  when 
the  ploughman  began  to  tremble  lest  his  as- 
sent had  been  given  too  hastily.  The  respon- 
sibilities of  his  new  position  bulked  so  largely 
in  the  eye  of  his  tender  conscience,  that  the 
more  he  contemplated  them,  the  more  formid- 
able did  they  appear.  He  spent  a  sleepless 
night.  Before  daybreak  next  morning,  he  was 
mounted  on  one  of  the  horses  of  the  farm,  on 

8* 


&0  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

his  way  to  his  friend's  at  the  Mount,  to  revoke 
last  night's  decision,  and  to  arrest  any  farther 
proceedings.  Another  lengthened  colloquy 
ensued.  Robert  was  firm ;  he  would  accept 
iof  no  declinature.  They  reasoned,  and  they 
prayed,  and  they  read  the  Word  together, 
xmtil  once  more  Saunders  gave  a  reluctant 
assent,  and  they  parted,  each  persuaded  that 
the  thing  was  of  the  Lord. 

The  thing  was  of  the  Lord.  The  results 
which  followed  leave  that  beyond  a  doubt. 
Dr.  Chalmers,  when  he  heard  of  it,  was  greatly 
dehghted.  Saunders,  he  felt,  was  now  to  be 
in  the  position  for  which  both  nature  and 
grace  had  fitted  him.  True,  he  had  no  acad- 
emical education ;  but  he  had  graduated,  he 
knew,  in  the  school  of  Christ.  In  that  school 
he  was  now  no  novice.  "I  was  a  stricken 
deer,"  he  could  say — 

"  That  left  the  herd 
Long  since :  "with  many  an  arrow  deep  infix'd 
My  panting  side  was  charged,  when  I  withdrew 
To  seek  a  tranquil  death  in  distant  shades. 
There  was  1  found  by  One  who  had  Himself 


NEW  FIELD.  91 

Been  hurt  by  the  archers.    In  His  side  He  bore, 
And  in  His  hands  and  feet,  the  cruel  scars. 
With  gentle  force  soliciting  the  darts, 
He  drew  them  forth,  and  heal'd,  and  bade  me  live." 

— And  the  '  life"  had  given  "  light" — flight  such 
as  the  mere  learning  of  academic  halls  cannot 
give. 

"  If  His  word  once  teach  us — shoot  a  ray 
Thro'  all  the  heart's  dark  chambers,  and  reveal 
Truths  imdisceru'd  but  by  that  holy  light — 
Then  all  is  plain.     Philosophy,  baptized 
In  the  pure  fountain  of  eternal  love, 
Has  eyes  indeed." 

It  was  proposed  by  certain  friends  that  he 
should  prepare  for  the  new  work  by  attending 
some  classes.  "  No,  no,"  said  Dr.  Chalmers, 
"  it  will  never  do  to  put  a  sclatch  o'  English 
upon  Sandie  Paterson ;  there's  an  earnestness 
about  him  and  a  natural  eloquence;  that  will 
carry  him  through  anywhere  ;  let  him  take  his 
own  way — no  fear  of  Sandie."  And  he  was 
not  disappointed.  "  There  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve," writes  a  respected  minister  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland,  whose  opportunities  of 


92  THE  MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

forming  such  a  judgment  were  not  few,*  "that 
the  remarkable  blessing  which,  in  very  many 
instances,  attended  Mr.  Paterson's  labors,  was 
one  of  the  circumstances  which  encouraged  the 
Doctor  to  persevere  in  his  zealous  endeavors  to 
reclaim  the  destitute  outcasts  of  our  large 
towns. 

In  what  spirit  he  went  forward  to  this  new 
scene,  we  may  gather  from  one  or  two  of  his 
letters. 

"  I  hope,"  he  writes  to  Miss  Edie,  a  distant 
relative  of  Eobert  Edie,  on  3d  November, 
1826,  "  that  you  are  following  on  to  know  the 
Lord.  The  name  of  our  dear  Eedeemer,  I 
trust,  is  as  sweet  ointment  poured  forth  ;  there- 
fore you  will  remember  His  love  more  than 
wine.  But,  my  dear  fellow-traveller  to  the 
heavenly  city,  when  we  think  of  the  love  of 
God  towards  us  sinners,  we  are  lost  in  wonder ; 
for  there  was  nothing  in  us  or  about  us  which 
could  induce  Him  to  love  us — nothing  but  sin, 
and   our  hearts  full  of  enmity  against  Him. 

*  llie Rev.  James  Brodie,  Monimail,  Fifeshire. 


WHOLLY  TO  PEAYER.  93 

Glory  to  God  that  ever  He  thoiiglit  upon  us, 
and  that  they  were  thoughts  of  love !  And, 
oh  how  delightful  to  know  that  whom  He 
loves,  He  loves  unto  the  end — ^that  He  rests  in 
His  love  towards  His  people !" 

And  to  the  same  friend,  on  1st  Julj^,  1827, 
— "May  we  give  ourselves  wholly  to  prayer, 
that  the  Lord  would  grant  us  His  Holy  Spirit 
that  He  may  take  of  the  things  of  Christ  and 
show  them  unto  us.  And  blessed  be  our  God 
that  this  world  is  not  our  home,  that  we  are 
only  travelling  to  our  Father's  house.  "We 
must  expect  to  meet  with  much  opposition  and 
many  crosses  on  our  way  home  ;  but  oh,  what 
a  comfort  it  is,  that  He  is  faithful  who  hath 
promised !" 


CHAPTER    V. 

Home-Heathenism— The  Arve  and  the  Rhone— The  Masses  and  the 
Churches— Edinburgh— The  Canongate— Its  Hovels— Prostitutes  brok- 
en down  under  the  Word— Crowded  Meetings— The  Widow — Her 
Testimony— A  Young  Woman-"  Who  has  told  you  about  me"  ?— Her 
Death-bed  Triumph—"  The  Master-Sprmg"— Cecil— "  A  Dead  Fish," 
and  "a  Living  One"— Another  Convert— " Cannot  live  without 
Prayer"— Many  Inquiries— "Tears  in  their  eyes." 

The  most  appalling  fact,  perhaps,  of  this 
age,  is  the  condition  of  "  the  masses"  in  our 
large  towns.  The  heathenism  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ganges,  with  its  three  hundred  and  thirty 
millions  of  idols,  is  a  spectacle  to  melt  a  heart 
of  a  stone.  But  our  home  heathenism !  souls 
perishing  annually  by  thousands,  and  by  tens 
of  thousands,  within  the  sound  of  our  church- 
bells, — perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge,  whilst 
our  communion-tables  are  filled  with  people 
who  year  after  year  "stand  all  the  day  idle!" 
what  shall  be  said  of  this  ? 


HOME-HEATHENISM.  95 

The  Arve,  rusliing  down  from  tlie  glaciers, 

"  Muddy  as  Acheron,  and  cold  a9  death," 

readies,  a  little  below  Geneva,  tlie  clear  bine 
Kbone.  For  awhile,  the  "  lake-river"  refuses 
to  combine  with  the  turbulent  torrent.  "  The 
two  rivers  flow  on  without  mingling,"  remarks 
a  traveller,  "  so  that  you  have  the  cold  mud  on 
one  side,  and  the  clear  crystal  on  the  other. 
The  Arve  is  the  child  of  night  and  frost,  while 
the  Ehone  is  the  daughter  of  the  day  and  of 
the  sunshine."  A  phenomenon  not  greatly 
dissimilar  is  seen  in  our  cities.  In  the  heathen- 
ism of  their  degraded  "closes"  and  "wynds," 
we  recognise  the  muddy,  glacier-like  Arve :  in 
the  Christianity  of  their  churches  and  commu- 
nion-tables we  recognise  the  azure,  heaven- 
reflecting  Ehone. 

And  in  another  feature,  alas !  the  likeness 
holds  good.  The  Arve  and  the  Ehone  here  also 
flow  on,  side  by  side,  refusing  to  commingle. 

Ought  it  so  to  be  ?  Is  not  the  "pure  river 
of  the  water  of  life"  sent,  from  "the  throne  of 


96  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KIT.MANT. 

God  and  of  tlie  Lamb,"  tlirongli  tlie  heart  of 
the  Churc]i,  for  the  very  purpose  of  absorbing 
the  dark  waters  which  flow  through  the  heart 
of  a  polhited  heathenism  ?  Is  not  "  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  day  and  of  the  sunshine"  charged  by 
Him  who  made  her  what  she  is,  not  to  repel, 
but  to  draw  cordially  to  herself,  this  outcast 
"  child  of  night  and  of  frost  ?" 

Yet  how  stands  the  case?  "  "We  can  tell," 
said  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  appealing  to  the  Church 
in  1834,  on  behalf  of  the  home-heathenism  of 
Scotland,  "  of  a  multitude  in  our  own  land, 
whom  no  man  has  yet  numbered,  who  are 
strangers  even  to  the  message  of  the  New 
Testament — of  that  still  greater  multitude, 
who,  with  an  eternity  wholly  unprovided  for, 
live  in  irreligion,  and  die  in  apathy  or  despair." 

In  Edinburgh  alone,  it  was  ascertained  in 
1836,  not  fewer  than  50,000  persons  attended 
no  place  of  worship  of  any  kind. 

Among  the  "outfields"  of  its  heathenism, 
scarcely  any  district  is  more  degraded  than  the 
Canongate— the  scene  in  which    Alexander 


THE  CANONGATE.  97 

Paterson  was  now  to  labor,  and  in  tlie  culture 
of  whose  families  lie  was  to  "spend,  and  to  be 
spent,"  during  tlie  remaining  twentj-four  years 
of  his  life.  Take  one  passing  glance.  "In 
some  of  tlie  worst  parts  of  tlie  district,"  says 
our  informant,  "  a  number  of  wretcbed  crea- 
tures were  collected  together,  who  had  lost  all 
sense  of  moral  decency,  and  whom  nothing 
could  induce  to  come  out  of  their  wretched 
hovels,  that  they  might  hear  the  "Word  of  life. 
To  these  hovels  he  went  once  a  week,  taking  a 
candle  in  his  pocket  that  they  might  have 
light ;  for  the  hovels  were  generally  in  sunk 
storeys  or  in  cellars,  and  the  inmates  were  so 
poor,  that  they  could  not  afford  a  light  of  their 
own." 

^'  Our  main  confidence  for  a  prosperous  re- 
sult," wrote  Dr.  Chalmers  to  the  Duke  of  Buc- 
cleugh,  announcing  the  design  of  his  great  en- 
terprise of  Church-extension,  "is,  under  the 
blessing  of  Heaven,  in  the  conscientious  and 
devoted  assiduities  of  those  who  may  be  ap- 
pointed to  the  charge  of  the  newly-formed 

9 


98  THE  MISSIOITARY  OF  KILMANY. 

parishes,  each  maintaining  a  moral  guardian- 
ship over  the  families  of  his  own  territory, 
and  plying  them  with  such  attentions  both  of 
common  and  of  Christian  kindness,  as  all  ex- 
perience attests  to  be  the  most  effectual  for 
humanizing  a  now  outlandish,  because  now, 
and  of  necessity,  a  sadly  neglected  population." 
The  ploughman  of  Kilmany  was  not  to  enjoy 
the  vantage-ground  afforded  by  the  official 
position  here  indicated ;  but  seldom  has  there 
entered  a  district  one  more  richly  furnished 
with  the  personal  qualities  which  tell  on  such 
a  scene.  Coupled  with  a  rare  natural  shrewd- 
ness, and  with  a  singularly  genial  warmth, 
there  was  a  power  of  prayer — a  mightiness  in 
the  Scripture — a  divine  tact  in  deahng  with 
souls,  which  proclaimed  him,  wherever  he 
went,  to  be  one  of  the  Master's  own  missiona- 
ries. 

He  began  his  work  in  the  Canongate  to- 
wards the  close  of  1827.  ''  This  is  a  wonder- 
ful field,"  he  writes  to  Eobert  Edie,  on  27th 
February,  1828,  *'  in  which  the  Lord  hath  cast 


THE  CANONGATE.  99 

my  lot.  Amidst  all  tlie  gospel-light  that  is 
now  shining,  thousands  in  gross  darkness,  and 
walking  in  darkness,  and  dying  as  they  live ! 
Oh !  my  soul  is  pained  within  me  at  times.  I 
still  meet  with  many  who  confess  that  they 
know  not  Jesus.  There  are  hundreds  of 
families  that  cannot  read  one  word.  They 
are  just  bringing  up  their  children  in  the  same 
way.  They  never  enter  the  house  of  God. 
Though  there  are  schools  for  the  very  purpose, 
they  will  not  send  their  children.  We  have 
some  old  people  learning  to  read,  at  sixty  and 
seventy  years  of  age ;  and  it  is  wonderful  how 
they  are  coming  on.  And  I  am  sure  you  will 
be  astonished  when  I  tell  you,  that  in  all  my 
visits,  there  are  none  who  neglect  me  as  yet. 
The  Lord  seems  to  go  before  and  pave  the 
way.  0  bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  never 
forget  all  this  kindness  which  the  Lord  hath 
shown  thee. 

"  He  inclines  these  very  sinners,"  he  con- 
tinues, "to  hear  the  message  of  salvation. 
And  even  the  most  abandoned  prostitutes  He 


100         THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

makes  to  listen  to  tlie  words  of  eternal  life. 
There  is  one  house  that  contains  six  of  these 
prostitutes ;  I  have  visited  them  for  some 
time  ;  and  now  I  have  established  a  meeting 
among  them  for  the  reading  of  the  Word  of 
God,  and  exhorting  them  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
that  is 'to  come.  And  it  is  wonderful  how  the 
Lord  binds  them  down,  and  makes  them  to 
give  the  hearing  ear.  Oh,  that  the  Lord  would 
make  His  word  like  fire,  and  like  a  hammer 
that  will  break  these  rocks  in  pieces. 

"  Oh !  this  is  laborious  work  indeed,"  he 
adds ;  *'  but  still  I  can  speak  to  the  praise  of 
my  God,  that  He  sends  none  a  warfare  on  their 
own  charges,  and  that,  when  He  sends  us  to 
fight  His  battles.  He  gives  us  strength  and 
courage  in  the  day  of  battle.  I  have  seen  and 
felt  much  of  the  Lord's  goodness  since  I  came 
here.  Our  meetings  at  night,  since  I  wrote 
you,  are  increased  in  their  number.  The 
places  where  we  meet  are  crowded  to  the  door. 
And  they  seem  to  feel  under  the  Word.  Let 
God  have  all  the  glory." 


THE  CANONGATE.  101 

It  was  his  custom  to  hold  little  meetings — 
often  two  or  three  in  the  course  of  a  single  day 
— ^to  which  he  invited  the  famihes  residing  in 
the  "  land"  just  visited.  A  larger  meeting  was 
held  each  Thursday  evening,  and  also  on  the 
Sabbath  evening,  in  a  stated  place — a  hall  sit- 
uated in  a  central  close  of  the  district.  To  any 
one  acquainted  with  the  ordinary  statistics  of 
such  meetings,  it  would  not  be  surprising  to 
be  told,  that  the  Sabbath-evening  and  week- 
evening  meetings  were  often  very  thinly  at- 
tended. But  during  the  entire  period  of  his 
labors,  the  ploughman's  meetings  were  almost 
invariably  crowded,  numbering  not  fewer  than 
a  hundred  persons. 

'''  His  daily  labors  were  such,"  says  one  who 
had  abundant  opportunities  of  knowing  his 
way,  "  as  would  appear  scarcely  credible.  He 
commenced  at  10,  A.M.,  and  often  continued, 
with  an  hour's  interval,  till  8,  p,m.  This  gave 
him  an  opportunity  of  meeting  all  classes  of 
the  people,  whatever  might  be  their  avocations 
or  hours  of  work.    Late  in  the  evening  he 


102         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

returned  liome  in  a  state  of  great  prostra- 
tion." 

Not  long  after  lie  tad  commenced  his  meet- 
ings in  Bull's  Close,  an  elderly  female  was  ob 
served,  with  unintermitting  regularity,  seated 
in  a  corner  of  the  hall,  and,  as  Brainard  says 
of  his  Indians,  "  hearing  as  for  her  life."  One 
night  after  the  meeting,  the  missionary,  at- 
tracted by  her  earnest  demeanor,  spoke  to  her 
in  his  own  kindly  way  about  her  soul. 

"  What  brings  you  so  constantly  here  ?" 
said  he. 

"  I  was  induced  to  attend  one  evening ;  and 
as  you  were  speaking  on  the  words,  '  Come 
now  and  let  us  reason  together,'  the  arrow 
pierced  my  soul.  I  went  home ;  and  so  great 
was  my  agony,  that  for  a  whole  month  I  could 
scarcely  eat  or  sleep.  Day  after  day  I  sought 
rest,  but  I  found  none."* 

*  The  details  of  this  case,  and  of  other  cases  to  be  noted, 
are  given  by  the  missionary  himself,  in  certain  brief  memo- 
randa which,  at  the  urgent  request  of  one  who  appreciated 
his  labors  at  their  true  value — James  Cunningham,  Esq., 
W.S. — he  drew  up  from  some  pencil-notes  taken  down  at 


THE  WIDOW.  103 

"  And  have  joii  found  Christ  now  ?" 

"No,  no,"  she  replied,  in  a  tone  of  deep 
gorrow ;  "  not  jet." 

Some  time  afterwards,  she  did  find  peace  in 
believing,  and  was  admitted  a  member  of  Leith 
Wjnd  Church  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Simpson. 

That  convert's  subsequent  history  was  not  a 
little  interesting.  Her  husband  and  ^ve  sons 
having  been  drowned  at  sea,  she  was  living,  at 
the  time  when  she  first  came  to  the  meetings, 
a  lonely  widow,  but  earning  a  decent  liveli- 
hood by  an  occupation  in  the  neighboring 
House  of  Industry.  After  an  interval,  a  mar- 
ried daughter  in  London,  her  only  surviving 
child,  "  wrote  for  her  to  come  and  reside  with 
them,  as  she  would  be  of  use  in  nursing  the 
children,  while  she  herself  attended  the  shop." 
Having  advised  with  Mr.  Paterson — ^for  such 
was  his  genial  way  with  the  people,  that  they 
began  to  repair  to  him  in  their  every  dif- 

tlie  repective  dates.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that 
Mr.  Cunningbam  prevailed  upou  him  to  do  even  this.  His 
invariable  reply,  on  such  occasions,  was — "  Another  day  will 
declare  it." 


104         THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

ficulty — sTie  removed  from  Edinburgli  to 
London. 

As  she  was  unable  to  write,  year  after  year 
passed  over,  and  Mr.  Paterson  beard  nothing 
of  her.  At  length  one  evening,  as  he  returned 
exhausted  from  his  labors,  he  found  in  his 
room  a  letter  from  a  London  city-missionary. 
"  I  have  found  to-day,"  wrote  the  missionary, 
"in  an  attic,  in  an  obscure  part  of  the  city, 
the  fruit  of  your  Canongate  labors."  It  was 
the  aged  widow.  Finding  that  her  son-in-law 
kept  his  shop  open  on  the  Lord's  day,  she  had 
spoken  very  earnestly  on  the  sinfulness  of  the 
practice,  urging  him  to  abandon  it.  The  re- 
monstrances were  vain  :  profit  triumphed  over 
principle  ;  and  the  traffic  was  continued.  But 
if  profit  triumphed  in  the  son-in-law,  principle 
triumphed  in  the  widow.  ''  Though  I  should 
beg  my  way  to  Scotland,"  was  her  emphatic 
reply,  "  I  will  not  remain  under  a  roof  where 
the  holy  Sabbath  is  so  desecrated." 

She  left  the  house,  and  took  a  small  attic, 
where  she  supported  herself  by  knitting.     In 


THE  WIDOW.  105 

that  attic  tlie  missionary  liad  visited  her  on  the 
day  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Paterson.  So  deeply  did 
her  case  interest  some  parties  in  London  to 
whom  it  was  afterwards  made  known,  that  the 
Highland  Society  granted  her  an  annuity  of 
£10. 

In  her  seventy -second  year  she  wrote  from 
the  attic  a  letter  which  is  worth  perusing.  Her 
amanuensis  was  the  London  city-missionary. 

"  Westminster^  June  17,  1840. 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Paterson, — I  received 
your  kind  letter  of  October  last,  and  have 
often  felt  a  strong  desire  to  answer  it ;  but  one 
thing  and  another  has  still  risen  up  to  frustrate 
my  wishes.  I  thank  you,  dear  Sir,  for  bring- 
ing the  great  realities  of  Christ  and  His  eternal 
kingdom  so  prominently  before  my  view.  0 
that  I  may,  indeed,  hold  on  and  hold  out ;  for 
only  they  who  do,  give  proof  that  the  work  is 
at  all  begun. 

"  We,  and  especially  I,  can  have  but  a  few 
more  short  stages  to  the  end  of  our  journey ; 


106         THE  MISSIONAEY  OF   KILMANY. 

but  what  a  merely  tliat  the  road  is  marked  out 
by  an  infallible  Guide,  who  has  promised  to 
accompany  us  to  the  very  last  step,  and  who 
has  linked  His  honor  and  glory  to  His  people's 
security  in  such  a  way,  that  no  power  in  earth 
or  hell  can  sever  them  I 

"  I  desire  to  thank  my  heavenly  Father  who, 
looked  upon  me  in  my  lost  condition,  and 
made  me  to  differ  from  thousands  that  sur- 
rounded me  then,  and,  I  humbly  hope,  is  keep- 
ing me  from  the  vanities  and  follies  of  tens  of 
thousands  who  surround  me  now,  in  this  great 
Babel,  of  all  ages,  and  of  all  classes,  who  are 
posting  on  to  eternal  night.  0  to  be  delivered 
from  the  numberless  snares  which  the  spiritual 
fowler  has  spread  in  this  vast  wilderness  for 
the  feet  of  unwary  travellers  I  0  to  escape  the 
noisome  pestilence  of  sin,  which  is  daily  slay- 
ing its  thousands  around  us  I  I  hope  the  Lord 
is  my  Saviour ;  for  I  desire  to  be  saved  only 
in  the  way  of  His  own  appointment — through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the 
truth. 


THE  WIDOW.  107 

"  Kemember  me  to  the  women  tliat  I  knew  in 
tlie  House  of  Industry  ;  and  tell  them  to  make 
sure  work  for  an  interest  in  Christ,  which  is 
the  one  thing  needful,  and  which  is  a  sovereign 
balm  for  every  wound.  It  is  not  likely  that 
I  shall  see  any  of  you  in  this  world  ;  but  when 
I  get  to  heaven,  I  will  be  on  the  look-out  for 
all  of  you.  0  that  there  may  not  be  one  soul 
missing ! 

"Be  so  kind  as  to  write  as  soon  as  possible, 
because  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  in  my  pil- 
grimage, to  hear  of  the  welfare  of  my  fellow- 
travellers  that  are  afar  off. 

"  I  conclude  with  my  best  wishes,  and  earn- 
est prayers  for  all  your  happiness,  and  remain 
yours  truly  and  sincerely, 

"  Isabel  M'Clennon." 

Not  long  afterwards,  the  Canongate-convert 
died,  as  she  had  lived,  a  humble  and  rejoicing 
believer. 

Another  case,  not  less  marked  in  its  results, 
occurred  about  the  same  time. 


108         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

''  Oil,  sir,  who  has  told  you  about  me  ?"  said 
a  young  woman  one  night  to  the  missionary, 
as  he  was  leaving  the  hall  after  the  meeting. 

"What  about?" 

"  Oh,  the  way  I've  been  living." 

"  Do  you  think  what  I  said  was  true?" 

"  Oh,  it's  all  true.  I've  had  no  fear  of  God 
before  my  eyes;  I've  been  living  in  what  I 
knew  to  be  sin,  but  my  heart  was  so  hardened 
by  it,  that  I  just  went  on  from  worse  to  worse. 
Oh,  sir,  what  is  to  become  of  me  ?" 

"  You  must  go  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  think  He  will  ever  receive 
me, — I  am  such  a  sinner !" 

"  I'll  come  and  see  you." 

"  Oh,  then,  sir,  don't  be  long." 

The  missionary  called  next  day,  and  found 
her  in  great  distress  of  mind. 

''  Oh !  I  am  lost  and  undone  forever  I"  she 
exclaimed  in  a  tone  of  deep  anguish,  as  he  en- 
tered. 

"  Oh,  no ;  Jesus  came  to  seek  and  to  save 
them  that  are  lost.    He  died  to  save  the  very 


THE  GREAT  SINNER  SAVED.  10^ 

chief  of  sinners.  He  declares,  *  Him  that 
cometli  unto  me,  I  will  in  nowise  cast  out.* 
'God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His 
only -begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
life.' " 

He  did  not  see  her  again  for  some  days. 
"Kow,"  was  her  joyful  salutation  the  next 
time  they  met,  "  now  I  see  not  only  my  great 
sins,  but  also  the  great  Saviour.  I  see  Him  to 
be  just  such  a  Saviour  as  I  need.  I  am  will- 
ing now  to  be  saved  in  Christ's  own  way." 

"  The  Lord  spared  her  for  some  years," 
writes  the  missionary  ;  "  and  she  lived  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  having  great  joy  and  peace 
in  believing  in  Jesus.  He  was  truly  precious 
to  her  soul.  '  "Well  may  I  now  say,'  was  her 
frequent  remark  to  me,  '  Thy  word  was  found 
of  me,  and  I  did  eat  it,  and  it  has  been  the  joy 
and  rejoicing  of  my  heart.'  " 

Her  death  bed  was  a  scene  of  lowly  tri- 
amph. 

"  For  me  to  live  is  Christ,"  she  said  one  day 

10 


110         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

fto  Mr.  Paterson  when  he  came  in,  "  and  for 
ime  to  die  is  gain." 

"  So  you're  not  afraid  to  die  ?" 

"  Oh  no  ;  Christ  has  died  for  me :  Jesus  has 
taken  away  the  sting,  and  now  death  cannot 
injure  me.  He  was  made  sin  for  me,  who 
knew  no  sin.  He  who  was  the  Just  One,  suf- 
fered for  me  the  unjust,  to  bring  me  to  God 
l3ie  Father.  Oh !  He  has  given  me  peace,  great 
peace ;  and  He  is  keeping  me  in  perfect  peace ; 
my  mind  is  stayed  on  Him." 

A  little  after,  she  said,  "Oh  what  a  wonder 
that  I  am  out  of  hell !  I  may  well  say,  '  Be- 
hold, what  manner  of  love  the  Father  has  be- 
stowed upon  me,  a  child  of  the  devil,  that  I 
should  be  a  child  of  Grod.'  '  And  if  children,' 
she  went  on  to  say,  '  then  heirs  of  God,  and 
joint-heirs  with  Christ.  If  so  be  that  we  suffer 
with  Him,  that  we  may  be  also  glorified  to- 
gether. I  reckon  that  my  sufferings  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which 
shall  be  revealed  in  us.' " 

JVuits  such  as  these  could  grow  only  upon 


THE  GREAT  SINNER  SAVED.  Ill 

"  trees"  whicli  the  Lord  Himself  had  planted. 
The  Lord  was  with  the  missionary,  owning  his 
humble  but  devoted  labors. 

"  Truth,"  says  Cecil,  "  is  the  master-spring 
of  a  minister.  Hell  is  before  me,  and  thou- 
sands of  souls  shut  up  there  in  everlasting 
agonies.  Jesus  Christ  stands  forth  to  save  men 
from  rushing  forth  into  this  bottomless  abyss. 
He  sends  me  to  proclaim  His  ability  and  His 
love — I  want  no  fourth  idea! — every  fourth 
idea  is  contemptible  ! — every  fourth  idea  is  a 
grand  impertinence."  And  if  this  be  true  of 
the  minister,  not  less  true  is  it  of  the  missiona- 
ry. In  Ms  daily  visitations  and  ministrations, 
there  is  nothing  to  feed  the  "  flesh" — nothing 
to  stir  that  merely  carnal  excitement  which  is 
so  easily  mistaken  for  the  movings  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  missionary  of  the  closes  and  of 
the  wynds  is  thrown  back  continually  upon 
first  principles.  If  he  have  not  a  heart  "  bub- 
bling up,"  like  David's,  "  with  good  matter 
touching  the  King,"*  he  soon  finds  that  he  has 

*  Psalm  xlv.  1. 


112         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

mistaken  his  calling.  "  A  dead  fish,"  it  has 
been  said,  "  will  swim  with  the  stream,  what- 
ever be  its  direction  ;  but  a  living  one  will  not 
only  resist  the  stream,  but,  if  it  chooses,  it  can 
swim  against  it." 

Day  after  day  Mr.  Paterson  was  found  at  his 
trying  post,  with  only  his  faith  to  animate 
him.  "  I  am  still  laboring  a  little  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord,"  he  writes  to  Miss  Edie  on  3d 
April,  1828,  "in  declaring  Christ  Jesns  and 
Him  crucified  to  poor  sinners.  There  are 
many  in  this  place  who  are  strangers  to  the 
great  concerns  of  their  never-dying  souls.  Oh 
this  should  stir  us  up  to  be  earnest  and  dili- 
gent in  the  work.  Oh  that  the  Lord  would 
bless  my  labors  among  the  people  I  Oh  that 
He  would  open  the  windows  of  Heaven  and 
shower  down  a  blessing  that  there  may  not  be 
room  to  receive  it !  I  trust  that  you  are  ex* 
periencing  the  light  of  your  Kedeemer's  coun- 
tenance, and  that  you  are  abounding  in  the 
love  of  your  God.  There  is  nothing  else 
worth  hving  for,  unless  for  Christ.     Oh  that 


THE  MASTER-SPRING.  118 

we  may  be  able  by  grace  to  show  to  tlie  world 
by  our  walk  and  conversation,  that  we  are  not 
of  the  world,  but  that  He  hath  chosen  us  out 
of  the  world,  and  ordained  us  to  eternal  life. 
I  desire  an  interest  in  your  prayers." 

New  examples  were  continually  occurring  to 
encourage  his  faith.  We  select  one  other  case 
belonging  to  the  earlier  period  of  his  Canon- 
gate  labors. 

"  Oh !  sir,"  said  a  woman  to  him  one  day, 
who  had  sent  for  him  to  come  and  see  her,  "  I 
have  long  had  a  desire  to  speak  with  you. 
What  a  careless  sinner  I  have  been !  You 
often  invited  me  to  come  to  your  meetings; 
but  I  felt  I  was  good  enough.  I  thought  that 
I  had  a  good  heart ;  and  if  I  went  to  church,  I 
thought  I  was  as  good  as  my  neighbors." 

"  And  are  you  changed  now  ?" 

"  One  night  I  felt  a  strong  desire  to  go  to 
your  meeting  ;  I  was  three  times  at  the  door — 
at  last  I  went  in.  You  spoke  from  these 
words,  '  Unto  you  is  the  word  of  this  salvation 
Bent.'     That  night  I  will  never  forget:   the 

10* 


114         THE  MISSIONARY   OF  KILMAJSTT. 

word  was  sent  to  me.  I  was  made  to  feel 
wliat  I  had  never  felt  before.  I  felt  myself  a 
sinner,  and  my  heart  to  be  a  hard  heart  and 
desperately  wicked.  I  saw  that  I  only  had  a 
name  to  live — ^the  form,  and  not  the  power  of 
godliness  ;  for  I  had  been  living  without  God 
and  without  Christ.  I  think  Christ  sought  and 
found  me  that  night — ^me  a  poor  lost  sheep  and 
a  dead  sinner,  and  gave  me  life.  Oh  the  peace 
I  h^ve  felt  in  my  soul  since  !" 

"  Do  you  think  you  are  free  from  all  sin  ?" 
asked  the  missionary. 

"  Oh  !  no  ;  I  never  felt  so  much  the  evil  of 
sin.  I  feel  my  heart  worse  than  ever  I  felt 
it.  I  hate  sin  more  than  I  ever  did.  I  love  to 
read  and  hear  the  "Word  of  God ;  and,  Sir,  be- 
fore I  could  get  on  without  prayer ;  but  now 
I  cannot  live  without  it." 

"  You  will  find  sin  so  strong  in  you  that 
you  will  be  like  to  think  at  times  it  will  get 
the  better  of  you  ?" 

"  Oh !  yes,  many  a  time ;  but,  sir,  that  word 
which  you  spoke  the  other  night  was  a  good 


THE  MASTER-SPKING.  115 

word  to  my  soul — '  Sin  shall  not  have  domin- 
ion over  me ;  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace.'  Oh  I  pray  for  me  that  I 
may  never  turn  back  from  the  Lord." 

"  This  woman,"  writes  Mr.  Paterson,  "  was 
through  grace  enabled  to  stand  fast  in  the  faith, 
and  gave  great  proof  to  all  who  knew  her,  that 
she  was  one  who  feared  the  Lord." 

And  these  were  only  specimens.  ''  My  la- 
bors," we  find  him  writing  to  Mr.  Edie,  on  1st 
July,  1828,  "  are  getting  on  as  well  as  I  could 
expect.  I  always  find  a  ready  reception ;  and 
there  is  at  present  a  great  concern  among  some 
of  them  about  their  souls.  It  is  the  Lord's 
doing.  Many  who  never  attended  divine  wor- 
ship are  attending  our  meetings.  Many  of 
them  that  were  drunkards  and  whoremongers, 
and  were  given  to  other  wickedness,  declare 
that  the  Word  has  been  blessed  to  them.  I 
hope  that  they  will  not  be  like  the  dog,  return- 
ing to  their  vomit.  Oh  the  work  is  great  and 
glorious  indeed ;  and  blessed  be  the  Lord  that 
it  is  His  own  work.    We  have  every  reason  to 


116         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

believe  that  He  will  bless  His  own  work.     He 
hath  said  it,  and  He  will  do  it." 

And  two  months  later,  to  Miss  Edie, — 
"  Glory  be  to  His  name  that  He  has  promised  » 
not  to  send  His  servants  a  warfare  on  their 
own  charges — that  He  has  promised  to  *  teach 
their  hands  to  war  and  their  fingers  to  fight' — 
that  Jesus,  our  great  Captain,  our  glorious 
Leader,  goes  before  us,  leading  us  to  victory. 
*  Is  not  my  word  a  hammer,  and  even  a  fire  ?' 
Oh  that  I  could  make  all  the  world  see  the 
beauty  of  my  preojous  and  adorable  Saviour ! 
"We  have  need  of  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  the  harmlessness  of 
the  dove.  I  have  cause  to  bless  the  Lord  that 
my  labors  have  not  been  in  vain.  There  are 
many  asking  the  way  to  Heaven,  with  tears  in 
their  eyes." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Power  of  Sympathy— People's  Affection  for  him— Illness — The  Converted 
Drunkard— "  Wept  like  a  Child"— Triumphant  Death— The  Strait 
Gate — Piercing  Sense  of  Sin — Example — The  Formalist — Taken  away  iu 
her  Sins— Afflictions— "  Merciful  Visits"—"  Trade  for  Christ"- Meet- 
ings— The  Fortune-teller — Trophy  of  Grace— Lay-Preaching— Secret 
of  its  power— Freshness  of  First  Truths,  not  Low  Familiarity — Moses 
on  the  Hill— Joshua  in  the  Plain. 

"  Sympathy,"  it  lias  been  said,  "  sinks  deep 
into  the  soul.  The  worst  love  those  that  love 
them."  In  our  humble  missionary  there  was 
a  yearning  aJBfection  which  touched  the  hearts 
of  the  most  depraved.  An  illness  which  laid 
him  aside  for  a  time  from  his  labors,  revealed 
the  people's  love  for  him.  "  When  I  was  shut 
up  from  them,"  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Edie,  on  29th 
May,  1829,  after  his  recovery,  "numbers  of 
them  came  to  my  house  every  day ;  and  many 
of  the  poor  creatures  entreated  me  not  to  come 
out  lest  I  should  get  cold.     My  heart  warmed 


118         THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY. 

mucli  for  tliem.  I  hope  tliat  the  God  of  all 
grace  will  give  me  grace  to  be  humble,  and 
grateful  to  Him  for  His  kindness  which  he  has 
shown  me  since  I  came  here  among  them,  for 
He  has  blessed  the  feeble  instrument.  Let  all 
the  glory  be  given  to  the  God  of  glory." 

Though  he  spoke  so  affectionately  to  the 
poor  outcasts,  he  did  not  spare  their  sins.  Hia 
trumpet  gave  no  uncertain  sound. 

"  I  went  home  from  the  meeting  that  night," 
said  a  man  to  him  one  day,  "  but  I  slept  none ; 
oh  I  it  was  a  wonderful  night  to  me." 

The  man  had  once  been  a  respectable  shop- 
keeper, and  a  member  of  a  Christian  Church. 
But  "  he  had  given  himself,"  says  Mr.  Pater- 
son,  "  to  drink,  and  he  had  sunk  so  very  low, 
that  the  boys  in  the  Canongate  might  be  ob- 
served taking  hold  of  his  coat-tails,  making 
him  '  a  bogle.'  " 

One  night  he  came  to  the  meeting.  ''I  was 
telling  the  people,  (from  Eom.  viii.  9,)"  writes 
the  missionary,  "  that  if  they  were  not  God's 
children,  they  must  be  the   children  of  the 


THE  CONVERTED  DRUNKAJRD.  119- 

devil,  and  were  not  only  children  of  wratTi,  but 
at  tliat  moment  the  wrath  of  God  was  abiding 
on  them ;  and  if  death  came  to  them  in  that 
state,  then  they  must  hear  the  words  sounded 
in  their  ears, — *  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed, 
into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels.'  And  I  was  telling  them  that 
at  that  very  moment  the  Lord  Jesus  was  say- 
ing to  every  poor  sinner  among  them,  '  Turn 
ye,  why  will  ye  die  ?'  that  Christ  Jesus  was 
able  and  willing  to  save,  not  only  those  sinners 
who  were  young,  but  even  those  who  had 
grown  old  in  iniquity,  and  that  now  was  the 
accepted  time,  and  now  the  day  of  salvation." 

"  These  words,"  said  the  man  to  him  next 
day  when  he  called,  "  went  to  my  heart ;  I 
felt  myself  a  lost  sinner  ;  I  cried,  '  What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  " 

From  that  night  he  was  a  new  man.  So 
great  was  the  change,  that  it  was  visible  to  the 
whole  neighborhood.  He  lived  several  years 
afterward,  "  proving  himself  to  be  not  only  a 
sober  man,  but  one  who  loved  the  Lord  Jesus 


120         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

and  nis  word.''  Such  was  his  hatred  of  any- 
thing which  tended  to  lead  him  back  to  his 
old  and  sinful  practices,  that  once,  when  he  had 
tasted  a  little  beer,  his  conscience  so  smote 
him  that  he  wept  like  a  child. 

"He  died,"  says  the  missionary,  "with  joy 
unspeakable.  Often  on  his  death  bed  he  might 
be  heard  saying, — Oh  I  what  grace  can  do  ! 
Here  am  I  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  burning. 
Here  am  I,  one  who  was  the  very  chief  of  sin- 
ners, become  a  saint  through  Christ ;  and  yet 
the  least  of  all  saints — ^by  the  grace  of  God  I 
am  what  I  am !  You  (addressing  Mr.  Pater- 
son)  have  been  the  means,  in  the  hand  of  the 
Lord,  of  my  salvation.  Oh,  what  a  Saviour  I 
have  found  I  Oh,  what  a  sinner  He  has 
saved  I' " 

"An  easy  entrance  on  religion,"  says 
Thomas  Boston,  "  is  somewhat  suspicious-like, 
and  needs  to  be  examined;  because  it  is  a 
*  strait  gate'  that  leadeth  unto  life."  "It  is  the 
way  of  the  world,"  he  adds,  "  to  expose  the 
entering  by  the  strait  gate  under  the  name  of 


THE  STRAIT  GATE.  121 

melancliolj,  madness,  and  distraction.  But  let 
tte  world  cry  it  down  as  they  will,  tlie  Bible 
cries  it  up,  as  not  only  justifiable,  but  neces- 
sary." Of  nothing  was  our  missionary  more 
jealous  than  of  this  "  easy"  religion.  The  first 
token  of  the  Spirit's  working  in  a  soul  was  a 
piercing  sense  of  sin.     Take  an  example. 

A  woman  whom  he  visited  was  for  months 
very  hardened,  scarcely  allowing  him  to  enter 
her  door.  "  I  repeated  my  visits,  however," 
says  he,  "  and  tried  to  impress  on  her  mind 
what  all  men  are  by  the  fall^ — corrupt  and  sin- 
ful, and  I  pointed  out  at  the  same  time  the 
misery  of  sin." 

One  day,  as  he  was  addressing  her  in  this 
strain  out  of  the  "Word,  she  was  suddenly 
brought  under  very  deep  conviction.  Now 
she  thought  she  was  so  great  a  sinner,  that 
there  could  be  no  mercy  for  her.  The  mis- 
sionary pointed  her  to  "the  Lamb  of  God 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Yet 
her  conviction  still  increased ;  her  soul  was 
like  the  troubled  waters,  it  could  not  rest. 

11 


122         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

"  Are  you  away  ?"  she  said,  on  one  occasion 
"when  he  was  leaving ;  "  Have  you  not  another 
word  to  say  to  me  ?" 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  turning  to  her,  "  I  have  this 
word  in  Isaiah,  xxvi.  12,  '  Lord,  Thou  wilt  or- 
dain peace  for  us ;  for  Thou  also  hast  wrought 
all  our  works  in  us.'  This  is  what  you  must 
be  brought  to  say." 

"  Oh  !"  she  exclaimed,  "  why  did  you  not  tell 
me  this  at  the  first  ?  That  is  just  what  I  needed. 
I've  been  thinking  I  must  do  something  my- 
self; and  I  could  never  better  myself.  But 
oh !  I  see  now  it  is  the  Lord  Himself." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Paterson,  "  it  is  the  Lord 
Himself  He  begins  the  work  in  the  soul,  and 
He  carries  it  on  ;  He  makes  the  sinner  willing 
in  the  day  of  His  power." 

He  went  next  day  to  her  house.  The  mo- 
ment he  entered,  she  exclaimed,  "  Oh  I  what  a 
blessed  night  I  have  had  !  I  see  that  Jesus  is 
just  the  very  Saviour  for  me.  Now  I  can  rest 
all  my  salvation  upon  Him.  Oh  I  I  see  my 
interest  in  Him  now.    I  can  now  take  hold  of 


THE  FATAL  DELAY.  123 

the  sweet  promises  you  pointed  out  to  me  at 
your  former  visits." 

Eeligion  like  that  has  a  root,  and  it  lasts. 
"  From  that  time  till  she  died,"  says  Mr.  Pater- 
son,  "  her  faith  in  the  Saviour  increased,  so 
that  she  departed  rejoicing  in  a  crucified  and 
risen  Lord,  as  all  her  salvation  and  all  her  de- 
sire." 

But  cases  occurred  of  a  less  pleasant  kind. 
We  select  an  example. 

It  was  that  of  a  female,  "  comfortable  in  her 
circumstances,  but  with  no  time  to  spare  for 
her  soul."  When  visiting  the  "  land,"  he  al- 
ways called,  but  never  got  admittance.  One 
day,  after  he  had  spoken  to  her  very  solemnly 
at  the  door,  warning  her  of  the  danger  of  dy- 
ing without  Christ, — he  was  going  up-stairs  to 
visit  another  family,  when  she  came  out  and 
cried  after  him,  "  Oh  I  be  sure  and  not  be  long 
in  coming  back  again,  for  I  do  wish  to  see 
you."     In  a  few  days  he  called. 

"  I'm  sorry,"  she  said,  the  moment  she  open- 
ed the  door,  "  I  have  no  time  to  receive  you 


124:         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

to-day ;  I've  a  friend  come  from  London,  and 
I've  to  go  out  with  liim." 

"  Well,  jou  will  liave  time  to  die,  wlietlier 
you're  prepared  or  not ;  so  you've  no  time  just 
now  ?" 

"  ISTo,  not  to-day." 

"  Well;  let  me  say  this  to  you,  in  case  you 
and  I  never  meet  again, — '  Behold  now  is  the 
accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.' 
*  To-day,  if  you  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not 
your  heart.'  '  Turn  at  my  reproof,  and  I  will 
pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  you,  and  make  known 
my  words  unto  you ;'  but  observe  what  fol- 
lows,— '  But  because  I  called,  and  ye  refused ; 
I  stretched  out  my  arms,  and  you  would  not 
regard  me ;  you  set  at  nought  all  my  counsels, 
you  would  none  of  my  reproofs,  I  also  will 
laugh  at  your  calamity,  and  mock  when  your 
fear  cometh.'  Oh  !  think  of  these  things,  lest 
I  never  see  you  again."  She  thanked  him,  and 
he  went  away. 

That  night  she  and  her  brother  went  to  the 
theatre ;  she  "  took  iU"  while  she  was  in  it — 


THE  FATAL  DELAY.  125 

came  home — grew  worse— and  was  in  eternity 
by  five  o'clock  next  morning, 

"  The  thing,"  says  he,  "  so  impressed  me, 
that  I  resolved,  if  God  spared  me  any  longer, 
to  labor  by  His  grace  more  diligently  than  ever 
— ^to  preach  the  Word — ^to  be  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season — ^to  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort, 
with  all  long-sufiering  and  doctrine." 

By  other  methods,  also,  the  Lord  was  sharp- 
ening his  sickle.  "The  Lord,"  we  find  him 
writing  to  Mr.  Edie,  on  17th  March,  1830, 
"has  in  His  loving-kindness  turned  His  hand 
upon  me,  and  brought  me  into  the  school  of 
affliction.  He  has  been  teaching  me  out  of 
His  law.  '  Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies, 
and  the  God  of  all  comfort,  who  comforteth  us 
in  all  our  tribulation,  for  this  purpose  that  we 
may  be  able  to  comfort  them  that  are  in  any 
trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  are  com- 
forted of  God.'  Oh,  what  a  comfort  is  this, 
that  our  dear  Jesus  says,  '  I  will  never  leave 
thee  nor  forsake  thee  I'     My  dear  brother,  time 

11* 


126         THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

and  all  our  troubles  will  soon  be  over  here ; 
and  then  we  shall  be  brought  home  to  our  Fa- 
ther's house.  There  the  Lamb,  the  dear  Lamb 
of  God,  shall  feed  and  shall  lead  us  to  the  foun- 
tain of  living  waters.  Then  shall  we  see  Him 
as  He  is,  face  to  face.  Every  day  is  bringing 
us  nearer  Him.  What  a  comfort  is  it  that  He 
does  make  a  visit  to  our  souls  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  fill  us  with  peace  and  joy  !" 

"  These  are  merciful  visits,  my  dear  Sandy," 
rejoined  Mr.  Edie,  on  6th  April ;  "  and  it  re- 
joices my  heart  that  you  have  been  made  to 
receive  them  as  such.  You  say  our  time  and 
troubles  here  will  soon  be  at  an  end.  So  say 
I,  my  friend.  Courage,  then  !  We  must  not 
let  go  our  confidence  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  which 
hath  great  recompense  of  reward.  Oh,  such  a 
reward  !  the  reward  of  grace — eternal  redemp- 
tion— the  fruition  of  His  love  in  glory !  Oh 
that  we  could  in  some  measure  comprehend, 
with  all  saints,  the  height,  depth,  length, 
breadth,  of  the  love  of  our  God  in  Christ ! 
But  it  passeth  knowledge.    When  I  contemn 


CHRIST  IS  ALL.  127 

plate  this  subject,  I  am  led  to  wonder  mucli  at 
tlie  low  pursuits  of  my  grovelling  soul,  and 
tliat  it  should  ever  be  led  away  from  the  con- 
sideration of  tilings  divine." 

He  rose  from  bis  sick  bed  quickened  into 
fresh  zeal.  ''  It  appears  but  as  yesterday,"  he 
again  writes  to  Mr.  Edie,  ''  since  I  came  to 
Edinburgh,  and  what  have  I  been  doing  ?  I 
have  done,  as  it  were,  nothing.  Oh,  to  be 
diligent  in  the  service  of  Him  who  loved  us 
and  gave  Himself  for  us,  even  to  the  death ! 
How  little  of  the  love  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is 
to  be  found  in  me  !  The  Apostle  says,  '  For 
me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.'  Oh 
may  we  cleave  to  Christ,  and  may  He  have  all 
our  hearts,  and  may  He  fill  them  with  His  love 
and  grace,  and  then  will  our  tongues  speak  of 
His  praise,  and  it  will  be  our  meat  and  drink 

to  do  His  will." 

« 

And  to  Miss  Edie, — "  N'o  medicine  like  the 
blood  of  Christ.  Christ  is  my  '  life  ;'  or,  my 
life  is  made  up  of  Christ,  just  as  a  wicked 
man's  life  is  made  up  of  sin.     Christ  is  the 


128         THE   MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

principle  of  my  life.  We  must  fetcli  our  spir- 
itual life  from  Christ.  The  believer  is  a  branch 
ingrafted  into  Christ,  therefore  receives  sap 
from  the  root — Christ.  "We  are  not  to  live  to 
ourselves,  but  we  are  to  live  to  Christ.  We 
must  lay  ourselves  out  for  Christ.  We  must 
trade  for  Christ's  interest.  The  design  of  our 
life  is  to  exalt  Christ.  David  cried,  '  0  come, 
and  let  us  exalt  his  name  together.'  " 

Again  we  see  him  in  the  field  putting  in  his 
sickle.  "  Oh !  sin  is  abounding  here,"  he 
writes.  "  Many  are  running  headlong  to  ruin. 
There  are  many  fearful  places  I  go  to.  Oh ! 
what  wretchedness  and  misery  do  I  meet  with ! 
They  allow  me  to  read  God's  Word  to  them, 
and  they  seem  to  listen  and  hear  it.  And 
they  attend  the  meetings  very  well.  I  have 
two  meetings  in  one  place — on  Monday  and 
Friday  ;  about  eighty  attend  them  every  night. 
I  have  other  two  in  different  places,  about 
thirty  at  each  of  them ;  indeed  the  place  will 
hold  no  more;  many  have  to  go  away  that 
cannot  get  in.     Oh  that  the  Lord  would  send 


THE  FORTUNE-TELLER.  129 

down  a  blessing !  for,  without  a  blessing  ftom 
Him,  all  will  be  in  vain.  I  commit  my  way 
unto  tlie  Lord.  Oh  remember  me  in  prayer. 
We  have  a  prayer-meeting  every  Wednesday 
night  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  Mrs. 
Coutts  has  one  in  her  house  every  Tuesday 
night.  I  was  there  last  night;  there  were 
about  twenty  present.  I  found  it  very  sweet 
and  refreshing."* 

"You're  one  o'  the  impudentest  fellows  ever 
I  met  with,"  said  an  old  woman  to  him  one 
Monday  morning,  abruptly  seizing  him  by 
the  arm,  as  he  was  going  down  the  Canon- 
gate. 

"  In  what  respect  ?" 

"In  what  respect?     Such  a  nicht  as  you 

*  "  I  was  at  breakfast  this  morning  with  Dr.  Chalmers," 
he  writes  in  the  letter  above  quoted.  "  They  are  all  well. 
He  is  a  very  kind  humble  man.  He  has  very  little  time  to 
spare.  He  has  two  classes  this  year ;  and  he  told  me  it  is 
one  o'clock  every  morning  before  he  gets  to  bed."  Knowing 
his  retiring  modesty,  which  made  him  shrink  from  juiuing  a 
circle  of  strangers.  Dr.  Chalmers  used  to  invite  him  to  tea  or 
to  breakfast  alone,  not  grudging  to  spend  two  or  three  houri 
with  him  in  converse  about  the  things  of  God. 


180         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

Lad  last  nicht  I  You  made  me  out  to  be  tlie 
greatest  sinner  in  the  Canongate." 

"  My  friend,  I  don't  know  you ;  I  don't  re- 
member ever  seeing  you  before." 

"  Never  saw  me  before !  Last  nicbt  you 
never  kept  your  eye  off  me  a  moment.  I 
would  have  thought  nothing  o't,  had  you  come 
and  told  me  by  mysel' ;  but  to  do  it  before  a' 
yon  folk — 'twas  too  bad." 

"  Where  is  your  house  ?"  said  the  missiona- 
ry, "  and  I'll  go  and  see  you ;"  for  by  this 
time  a  crowd  had  gathered  on  the  pavement. 

"  Come  awa',  then,"  was  her  immediate  re- 
ply. And  taking  him  up  to  the  top-flat  of  a 
neighboring  "land,"  she  ushered  him  into  a 
dirty  hovel,  full  of  smoke. 

"  This,"  said  she,  the  moment  they  entered, 
to  her  husband,  who  was  sitting  by  the  fire, 
"  this  is  the  man  that  gave  me  such  a  redding- 
up  last  night." 

"  But  is  what  I  said  true  ?"  asked  Mr.  Pater- 
son,  mildly,  after  they  had  sat  down  upon  two 
rickety  stools,  which,  with  that  on  which  the 


THE  FOKTUNE-TELLER.  131 

husband  was  sitting,  composed  the  cliief  arti- 
cles of  furniture  in  tlie  apartment. 

"  True  ?  it  was  all  true  ;  and  if  you  hadn't 
been  going  about  among  the  neighbors,  you 
never  could  have  known  what  you  said." 

"  Well,  what  was  it  I  said  that's  given  you 
so  much  offence  ?" 

" Said?  I'm  sure  all  you  said  was  meant  for 
me." 

"  How  do  you  think  that  ?  I  never  named 
you ;  as  I  said  before,  I  didn't  so  much  as  know 
you." 

"  What  I  you  never  took  your  eyes  off  me 
a'  the  time  you  were  speaking ;  so  you  just 
meant  me." 

"  But  tell  me  what  struck  you  most." 

"You  said  that  I  was  a  liar,  and  that  I 
would  be  cast  into  hell." 

"  Well,  then,  are  you  a  liar?" 

"Yes,  I  am." 

*'  What  kind  of  life  have  you  been  living  ?" 

"  Oh !"  she  said,  with  a  tone  of  deepened 
feeling,  "I've  been  living  a  bad,  bad  life ;  I've 


132         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

for  many  years  been  2^,  fortune-teller^  and  I  may 
say  I've  made  my  bread  by  telling  fortunes ; 
and  that's  just  telling  lies,  you  know." 

"Well,  then,  you  needn't  be  angry  that  I 
said  so.  But  let  me  tell  you,  it  wasn't  my 
words  that  I  spoke  to  you, — ^it  was  God's 
words,  and  He  knows  your  every  thought,  and 
every  word  you  speak."  He  read  to  her  Eev. 
xxi.  8 — "  But  the  fearful  and  unbelieving,  and 
the  abominable,  and  murderers,  and  whore- 
mongers, and  sorcerers,  and  idolaters,  and  all 
liars,  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which 
burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone,  which  is  the 
second  death."  "  If  you  continue  in  that  sin," 
said  he,  "believe  me,  you  shall  never  enter 
heaven."  He  next  read  Eev.  xxii.  11 — "  He 
that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still,  and  he 
that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still  ....  And, 
behold,  I  come  quickly,  and  my  reward  is  with 
me,  to  give  to  every  man  according  as  his  work 
shall  be.  For  without  are  dogs,  and  sorcerers, 
and  whoremongers,  and  murderers,  and  idola- 
ters, and  whosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie.'^ 


THE  FORTUNE-TELLEE.  133 

"  Now  it  is  the  Lord  Jesus,"  lie  added,  "  who 
sajs  all  tliis,  and  not  I." 

''I  see  jou  are  right,"  replied  the  woman,  in 
a  tone  more  and  more  subdued ;  "  I'm  no  less  a 
sinner  than  you  said  I  was.  But  what  is  to 
become  of  me  ?" 

"  There's  nothing  for  you  but  to  go  to  Jesus." 

'^But  will  he  take  such  a  wretch  as  me? 
Oh !  I  am  a  great  sinner.  And  oh,  Jamie  !'* 
she  added,  turning  to  her  husband,  in  evident 
concern,  "you're  no  better  than  me;  I  doubt 
we'll  both  be  cast  down  into  hell." 

"  It  really  doesn't  look  well,"  said  her  hus- 
band, shaking  his  head  significantly,  as  if  him- 
self beginning  to  be  alarmed  also. 

"  But,  sir,  do  you  think,"  asked  the  woman, 
"that  Jesus  would  take  such  sinners  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  missionary,  opening  his 
Bible,  "  it  is  written  in  this  book,  '  Whosoever 
confesseth  and  forsaketh  his  sins,  shall  find 
mercy.'     Have  you  a  Bible  in  the  house  ?" 

"  Oh !  no ;  we  have  none." 

"  Do  you  ever  go  to  church  ?'* 
12 


184         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

"Never;  I  haven't  had  my  foot  within  a 
church-door  for  sixteen  years,  till  last  night 
that  I  heard  yon ;  but  I'll  come  and  hear  you 
again.     Have  you  any  other  meetings  ?" 

He  told  her  he  had  four  meetings  during  the 
week,  and  where  she  might  find  them  each  night. 

From  that  day  the  woman  gave  up  her  for- 
tune-telling. Along  with  her  husband  she 
attended  every  meeting.  They  got  a  Bible,  and 
read  it  and  prayed  over  it.  A  great  change 
came  over  their  whole  life. 

The  husband  lived  for  some  years,  giving 
marked  evidence  of  his  interest  in  Christ. 
"  Oh  !  had  you  not  come  to  my  house  that  day 
with  my  wife,"  he  used  often  to  say  to  the  mis- 
sionary^  "  and  had  she  not  gone  to  that  meet- 
ing where  she  thought  you  exposed  her  so 
much,  I'm  sure  we  should  both  have  gone 
down  into  hell,  for  oh  !  we  lived  a  sad  life  of 
sin ;  but  since  that,  we  have  had  great  peace 
and  comfort,  even  when  we  had  little  to  eat, 
for  that  little  had  God's  blessing  with  it."  He 
died  in  the  faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


LAY-PREACHING.  135 

"  Tlie  woman  died  on  23d  September,  1847," 
says  Mr.  Paterson,  "  a  manifest  trophy  of 
sovereign  grace." 

"  A  hundred  times  it  lias  been  said,"  ob- 
serves Isaac  Taylor,*  "by  those  who  would 
fain  show  their  liberality  in  getting  up  an 
apology  for  lay-preaching,  that  it  is  the  lay- 
preacher's  employment  of  a  dialect  colloquially 
understood  by  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  low  level  of  his  ideas,  that 
fit  him  for  his  office  as  their  instructor.  .  .  But 
no ;  it  is  concentration^  and  not  a  low  familiari- 
ty,— ^it  is  the  elementary  grandeur  of  first 
truths,  that  forcibly  opens  up  a  way  into  the 
human  heart,  whether  cultured  or  rude. 
Whether  it  be  the  bearer  and  winner  of 
academic  honors,  or  the  recently-washen  mason 
or  shoemaker, — the  preacher  who  feels  with 
power  and  freshness  such  truths,  and  who 
brings  to  bear  upon  the  utterance  of  them 
some  natural  gifts,  is  always  listened  to  by  the 
mass  of  men."     The  "  first-truths"  uttered  by 

*  Wesley  and  Methodism^ 


136         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

Alexander  Paterson  were  drawn  fresh  from 
tlie  Word :  in  his  mouth  they  never  grew  com- 
mon-place :  homely  as  was  the  missionary's 
style,  the  truths  retained  their  elementary 
grandeur ;  they  touched  the  heart,  they  pierced 
the  conscience,  they  held  the  sinner  fast  as  a 
rebel  of  God,  they  drew  him  by  the  cords  of 
love  to  the  feet  of  the  Sin-bearer. 

And  how  did  he  maintain  in  his  own  soul 
the  power  and  freshness  of  those  first- truths  ? 
In  his  ploughman-days,  he  had  always  been 
accustomed  to  rise  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. After  he  came  to  Edinburgh,  and  down 
the  close  of  his  life,  he  awoke  regularly  at  the 
same  early  hour,  and  gave  himself  to  medita- 
tion and  prayer.  It  was  in  these  morning  hours 
of  Bible  meditation  and  prayer,  that  the  real 
battle  with  the  enemy  of  souls  was  fought. 
In  his  closet,  he  was  Moses  on  the  top  of  the 
hill  with  the  rod  of  God  in  his  hand :  in  the 
closes  and  wynds,  he  was  Joshua  discomfiting 
Amalek  in  the  plain. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

« Heart-deep"— The  Awakened— Rest  in  Christ— The  Death-bed  Tri 
umph— Another  Inquirer— The  Wet  Bible— The  "  Awful  Night"— The 
Orimson-dyed  sinner — The  Change — The  Lesson — Dr.  Chalmers — Tears 
of  Joy — The  Prayer— The  Converted  Papist— Dexterity  in  Applying  of 
Remedies— Closet  Teachings — Dr.  Chalmers — The  Chair—"  None  but 
Christ"— The  Wynds— The  Stout-hearted- The  Melting— The  "  Chris- 
tian Look" — Vinet— "  I  have  no  Love  to  Christ" — "  Must  not  I  first 
Repent  ?"— The  "Study  of  Chrisi"— The  Furnace— "  Not  Alone." 

*'  He  is  not  witty  or  learned  or  eloquent,  but 
lie  is  liolj.  The  character  of  his  sermon  is 
holiness.  He  dips  and  seasons  all  his  words 
and  sentences  in  his  heart,  before  they  come 
into  his  mouth  ;  truly  affecting  and  cordially 
expressing  all  that  he  says  ;  so  that  the  audi- 
tors may  plainly  perceive  that  every  word  is 
heart-deep."  So  writes  Herbert  in  describing 
his  "  Country  Parson."  Our  missionary  is  here 
drawn  to  the  life. 

Instances  were  continually  occurring  which 
12* 


138  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

proved  the  telling  efficacy  of  his  earnest  and 
"  heart-deep"  words.     We  select  one  in  1835. 

A  woman  and  her  husband  came  together 
one  night  to  his  meeting.  His  text  was, 
"  Come  now,  and  let  tis  reason  together ; 
though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be 
white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crim- 
son, they  shall  be  as  wool."  The  woman  was 
brought  under  great  concern.  ^'  I  felt  myself," 
she  afterwards  told  him,  "  a  lost  and  undone 
sinner ;  and  I  thought  there  was  no  help  for 
me."  "  For  weeks,"  he  says,  "  she  cried  for 
mercy  to  pardon  and  for  grace  to  help  her; 
but  she  remained  in  great  distress,  her  soul 
finding  no  relief." 

On  the  husband  the  word  had  a  different 
effect.  He  went  away  from  the  meeting  in  a 
great  rage,  and  never  again  returned  whilst  his 
wife  lived. 

The  woman  was  never  absent.  One  night 
the  missionary  spoke  on  these  words, — "  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest."     The  Hght  broke  in 


THE  AWAKENED.  139 

upon  her  soul.  She  saw  that  the  blood  of 
Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  She  believed ; 
and  she  found  peace. 

She  lived,  after  this,  for  five  years,  a  marked 
trophy  of  free  grace.  Her  death  bed  was  a 
scene  of  calm  triumph. 

"  Do  you  find  Christ  near  to  you  ?"  said  he 
to  her  one  day. 

*'  Oh  yes,"  she  replied,  "  Christ  is  in  me,  the 
hope  of  glory.  He  is  precious  to  my  soul. 
My  Beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  His.  The  Lord 
is  my  shepherd  ;  I  will  never  want  any  good 
thing.  In  a  little,  I'll  be  in  my  Father's  house, 
to  be  forever  with  my  Father,  and  with  Jesus, 
my  dear  Saviour." 

And  taking  the  missionary  very  earnestly  by 
the  hand,  she  added,  "  Oh,  pray  much  for  my 
dear  husband ;  after  I  am  away,  be  sure  to 
visit  him ;  it  may  be  the  Lord  will  yet  turn 
his  heart ;  you  see  mine  was  just  as  hard  as 
his,  and  by  His  word  and  Spirit  He  broke  my 
heart,  and  put  life  into  my  dead  soul.  Be  sure 
and  visit  my  husband." 


140         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

The  request  was  not  forgotten.  Once  every 
week,  Mr.  Paterson  visited  him ;  but,  for  a 
long  while,  without  any  apparent  result.  At 
length,  one  day,  as  he  went  in,  he  found  him 
with  the  Bible  before  him,  and  the  tears  trick- 
ling down. 

"  John,  what's  the  matter  ?"  said  he,  after  a 
pause. 

"  Oh !"  was  the  reply,  *'  last  night  was  the 
most  awful  night  that  ever  I  had  in  my  life." 

"How?" 

"  D'ye  mind  me  coming  one  night  with  my 
wife  to  your  meeting  in  Bull's  Close  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  do ;  but  you  never  returned." 

"  No,  I  did  not ;  and  that  night,  if  I  had  had 
you  at  the  door,  I  would  have  knocked  you 
down,  for  you  made  me  to  be  such  a  sinner  that 
I  was  enraged  at  you.  D'ye  mind  the  words 
you  spoke  upon  that  night? — Your  text,"  he 
went  on  to  say,  without  waiting  for  a  reply, 
and  in  a  tone  betokening  the  intensest  agony, 
"  your  text  came  into  my  mind  last  night  in 
my  sleep,  and  I  thought  I  heard  you  speaking 


REST  IN  CHRIST.  141 

to  me.  I  saw  myself  to  be  tlie  scarlet  and 
crimson- dyed  sinner — tlie  very  sinner  you  rep- 
resented me;  and  I  thought  you  pointed  at 
me.  Oh  I  my  very  heart  is  broken  within  me. 
Oh  !  what  will  become  of  me,  if  I  die  in  this 
awful  state  ?" 

''  Eemember,"  said  the  missionary,  "  the 
words,  '  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together ; 
though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be 
white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crim- 
son, they  shall  be  as  wool.'  How  long  is  it 
since  you  heard  me  upon  these  words  ?" 

"  It's  now  seven  years." 

"  Well,  John,  you  see  who  it  is  that  says, 
*  Come  now.'  It  is  the  Lord.  He  said  seven 
years  ago,  '  Come  now,' — and  you  would  not 
come.  And  the  Lord  has  come  to  you  this 
last  night  and  spoken  Himself  to  you, — and  He 
says  that  now,  even  now,  if  you  be  willing,  at 
this  very  moment,  He  wiU  do  to  you  even  as 
He  hath  said.  Believe  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 
Oh,  cast  yourself  down  at  His  feet,  and  cry. 


142         THE  MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

'  Lord,  save  me  or  I  perish  !    God  be  merciful 
to  me  a  sinner  !'  " 

"  The  man,"  writes  Mr.  Paterson,  "  fled  that 
very  day  into  the  refuge.  The  change  was 
visible  to  all  the  neighbors.  He  lived  for 
three  years ;  and  when  he  died,  it  was  in  the 
faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  From  being  a  proud 
sinner,  he  had  become  like  a  little  child ;  his 
heart  was  truly  broken.  God's  Word  was  his 
consolation  to  his  dying  day." 

"  This  was  a  case,"  he  adds,  "  which  gave  me 
great  encouragement  to  speak  God's  own  Word 
to  poor  sinners.  That  portion  of  the  Word  of 
the  Lord  had  lain  in  this  man's  heart  for  seven 
years,  before  he  ever  felt  its  power.  *  This  is 
the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our 
eyes.' " 

A  touching  scene  follows.  "I  called  on 
Dr.  Chalmers  on  Friday,"  he  writes  to  Mr. 
Edie,  on  29th  April,  1835,  "  and  spent  an  hour 
with  him.  It  reminded  me  of  Kilmany  ;  in- 
deed, I  came  away  from  him  much  refreshed ; 
he  was  just  like  a  father, — ^he  took  such  an 


"TEAES  OF  JOY."  14S 

interest  about  both  my  soul  and  body,  and  also 
my  labors ;  and  wben  I  told  him  about  them, 
lie  seemed  to  be  overjoyed.  When  he  heard 
of  some  of  those  who  had  been  brought  to 
Christ,  the  tears  came  down  his  pale  cheeks. 
My  heart  was  sore  indeed  to  see  him, — ^he  is  so 
ill-like  and  so  thin.  He  is  very  much  taken 
up  about  the  Church,  and  spoke  a  good  deal 
about  it ;  I  liked  his  plan — ^he  gave  me  both 
his  new  books.  Miss  Chalmers  brought  a  glass 
of  wine,  and  he  asked  a  blessing;  indeed  it  was 
just  a  prayer,  and  oh !  it  was  rich  indeed  and 
refreshing.  He  has  his  best  regards  to  you, 
and  says  he  liked  your  speech  very  much. 
You  know  that  I  said  in  my  last  letter  that  he 
was  at  London  ;  but  I  was  wrong — ^he  is  not  to 
go  for  some  time  yet.  He  is  earnest  for  an  in- 
terest in  our  prayers.  I  am  sure  you  would  be 
greatly  struck  if  you  saw  him,  he  is  so  altered 
and  worn-out  hke ;  but  I  hope  the  Lord  will 
spare  him  a  little  longer  yet." 

The  Lord  continued  to  bless  Mr.  Paterson's 
labors.     "  There  is  a  woman,  a  Roman  Catho- 


14:4:         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

lie,"  he  writes  to  tlie  same  correspondent, 
"  whom  I  had  often  visited,  and  of  whom  I  had 
little  hope.  But  she  took  ill,  and  was  long  ill. 
She  sent  for  me,  and  I  went  and  read  the  Word 
of  God  to  her,  for  she  conld  read  none  herself; 
and  I  endeavored  to  show  her  that  there  was 
salvation  in  no  other  than  in  Jesns  Christ, 
and  that  it  was  not  anything  that  we  could  do, 
but  only  what  He  had  done  and  was  doing, 
and  nothing  short  of  the  blood  of  Jesus,  whi  ch 
could  take  away  our  sin.  She  was  enabled, 
through  grace,  to  believe  on  the  Son  of  God, 
our  dear  Jesus.  She  wanted  me  one  day  to 
read  the  Word  of  God  to  her.  It  was  delight- 
ful to  hear  that  woman;  how  much  of  the 
Word  she  received,  and  how  much  comfort  she 
found  from  it.  She  died  rejoicing  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  all  her  salvation. 

"  Let  me  tell  you,"  he  proceeds,  "  of  another 
Catholic.  He  was  in  bed,  but  he  had  heard 
the  conversation  that  I  had  with  his  wife,  and 
also  the  prayers.  He  was  much  struck  with 
what  he  heard,  and  also  with  the  prayer.     He 


CLOSET  TEACHINGS.  145*^ 

had  never  entered  tlie  lionse  of  God,  and  had' 
used  his  wife  very  ill.  Now  lie  goes  every  day 
to  the  house  of  God,  and  they  live  happily  to- 
gether. I  have  a  meeting  in  the  'land'  where 
they  live,  and  he  attends  the  meeting,  and 
seems  an  attentive  hearer. 

"  There  is  also,"  he  adds,  "  another  woman 
who  has  been  led  to  embrace  the  Lord  Jesus- 
Christ,  and  gives  proof  that  she  has  done  so. 
This  has  happened  since  I  saw  you.     The  Lord 
have  all  the  glory." 

George  Herbert,  in  his  "Country  Parson," 
has  a  chapter  with  this  quaint  but  pregnant 
title,  "The  Parson's  Dexterity  in  applying  of^ 
Remedies."  Our  missionary  possessed  a  singu- 
lar tact  in  conducting  this  most  difficult  and 
delicate  work.  "  I  have  need  of  your  prayers," 
he  writes  to  Mr.  Edie,  in  July,  1835,  "that  I 
may  be  found  faithful  in  my  Lord's  work,  and 
faithful  to  the  souls  of  men  and  women.  This 
is  the  most  difficult  part  of  my  work.  Some- 
times I  am  afraid  lest  I  should  say,  *  peace,' 
when  God  says  '  no  peace,'  and  at  other  time* 

13 


146         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

lest  I  make  those  sad  wliom  tlie  Lord  lias  not 
made  sad ;  so  that  I  liave  great  need  of  your 
prayers.  This,  however,  is  only  my  own  fear. 
I  have  never  as  yet  heard  of  any  of  the  Lord's 
people  who  have  been  thus  wounded.  And  as 
for  sinners,  until  they  be  wounded,  they  will 
not  care  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  yet, 
after  they  are  wounded,  even  then  it  is  no 
easy  matter  to  get  them  to  go  to  the  Lord  Jesus ; 
for  the  devil,  if  he  can  destroy  a  soul  any  way, 
will  do  it. 

"There  is  a  woman,"  he  continues,  "at 
present  under  deep  conviction ;  and,  notwith- 
standing all  that  I  can  say  to  her,  she  will  not 
take  comfort.  She  judges  herself  unworthy  of 
eternal  life,  and  so  puts  away  the  Lord  of  life ; 
but  the  Lord  has  his  own  way  of  bringing  a 
;  sinner  to  Himself.  She  is  not  like  the  one  I 
told  you  about  when  you  were  here.  She 
took  comfort,  and  rejoiced  in  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord,  and  died  in  the  faith  of  Jesus." 

And  he  adds, — "  A  woman  died  on  Sabbath 
last  who  was  once  a  great  sinner,  but  was 


CLOSET  TEACHINGS.  147 

brought  to  deep  conviction  of  sin  about  seven 
years  ago  at  one  of  my  meetings,  and  gave 
proof  of  her  interest  in  tbe  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  died  in  the  faith  of  her  dear  Jesus,  as  she 
often  called  him.  She  often  said  to  me  and 
others,  if  she  had  not  come  to  that  meeting, 
she  feared  that  she  would  have  gone  on  in  sin, 
and  died  in  sin,  and  gone  to  hell.  *  Oh  the 
peace,'  she  used  to  say,  '  I  have  enjoyed  since 
I  came  to  dear  Jesus !'  She  often  invited 
others  to  come  to  Jesus,  saying,  '  she  was  sure 
that  after  such  a  sinner  as  she  had  been  wel- 
comed, none  need  stay  away.'  She  hved  alone, 
but  she  often  said,  '  I  am  not  alone,  for  the 
Father  and  my  Saviour  are  with  me,  and  His 
word  is  my  comfort.  Oh,  my  dear  sir,  what 
the  grace  of  Grod  can  do !  Let  us  give  glory  to 
our  God.' " 

How  earnestly,  meanwhile,  he  took  heed  to 
his  own  soul !  "  What  grace  it  is  towards  us,'* 
he  adds,  in  the  letter  just  quoted,  "  that  our 
union  to  Christ,  our  life,  cannot  be  broken ! 
And  oh  that  our  faith  of  our  interest  in  Him, 


148         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMAlSTT. 

in  His  person  and  fulness,  maj  daily  engage 
us  to  live  to  Him  who  died  for  ns  and  rose 
again  I  Oh  that  we  might  not  be  contented  to 
live  at  the  poor,  low,  carnal  rate  at  which  the 
most  of  professors  and  church-members  live  I 
At  this  day  our  Lord  has  the  fan  in  His  hand, 
and  He  will  thoroughly  purge  His  floor. 
*  When  the  Lord  shall  search  Jerusalem  with 
candles,  who  shall  abide  the  day  of  His  com- 
ing?' Let  us  therefore  watch  and  keep  our 
garments,  and  whatsoever  others  will  do,  let 
us  labor  to  improve  all  our  present  moments, 
some  way  or  other,  to  glorify  God,  that  so, 
when  our  Lord  appears,  we  may  be  found  of 
Him  in  peace,  and  have  His  *well  done'  as 
good  and  faithful  servants.  Oh  what  a  glori- 
ous Master  is  Jesus  Christ !  How  glorious  is 
His  service!  And  what  a  glorious  reward 
will  He  bestow  upon  His  servants,  when  He 
bids  them  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord !" 

During  the  winter  of  1835-6,  he  attended 
Dr.  Chalmers'  Lectures  in  the  Divinity  Hall. 
Writing  to  Mr.  Edie,  on  13th  April,  1836,  he 


DEXTERITY  IN  APPLYING  REMEDIES.      149 

says, — "  I  have  been  greatly  delighted  and  edi- 
fied with  them.  A  great  many  of  them  were 
as  plain  to  me  as  ever  I  heard  him  in  Kilmany. 
He  was  for  three  weeks,  except  on  Fridays, 
upon  the  fall  of  man,  and  other  three  weeks  on 
the  remedy  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Oh  it  was  grand  ;  and  the  good  man  seemed  to 
feel  what  he  spoke ;  his  whole  soul  was  in  it. 
He  pointed  out  the  corruption  of  the  heart  and 
its  exceeding  sinfulness  in  such  a  light  that,  if 
he  had  not  felt  it,  he  could  not  have  done  it. 
And  how  he  pressed  home  the  truth  upon  the 
young  men,  that  unless  they  were  brought  to 
feel  that  they  were  lost  and  ungodly  sinners 
themselves:  and  unless  they  knew  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  disease,  they  never  would 
take  hold  of  the  whole  remedy.  He  said 
he  did  not  want  to  send  them  out  to  defend  the 
truth,  but  to  preach  the  truth,  and  the  whole 
truth,- — 'and,  in  doing  this,  they  must  preach  a 
whole  Christ.  And  then  he  turned  them 
to  the  application  of  the  remedy  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.    He  referred  them  to  the  "Word  of  God, 

13* 


150         THE  MISSIONAET  OF  KILMANT. 

and  showed  them  from  it  tlie  work  of  tlie 
Spirit  in  giving  tliem  to  feel  their  need  of 
Christ,  and  also  to  apply  the  blood  of  Jesns 
Christ.  'And  now,  gentlemen,'  he  said, 
'when  you  go  to  preach,  hold  out  Christ  as 
One  who  is  able  to  save,  and  willing  to  save  to 
the  very  uttermost.  Some  hold  out,  that  we 
must  feel  the  love  of  God  in  our  heart,  before 
we  can  venture  to  trust  in  Christ,  or  take  com- 
fort from  Christ ;  but  not  so  the  Bible.  The 
sinner  feels  he  needs  salvation  ;  he  is  welcome 
to  take  Christ,  and  comfort  from  Christ.'  I  do 
think,  my  dear  brother,  you  would  have  en- 
joyed him  much.  I  thought  sometimes — Oh, 
if  you  were  here  1" 

And  reverting  to  his  labors  in  the  wynds, 
he  adds,  "  I  have  great  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Lord  is  with  me  in  my  work.  Many  are 
under  great  concern  about  their  souls,  who 
have  lived  for  forty,  fifty,  sixty,  and  eighty- 
five  years  in  unconcern.  I  have  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  this  winter;  and  it  is  wonderful 
how  the  Lord  has  given  me  strength  for  my 


THE  STOUT-HEAETED.  151 

work,  and  also  makes  me  feel  deliglit  in  it. 
Thanks  be  to  my  God,  tliat  althougli  I  am  often 
very  mncli  wearied  in  my  work,  I  never  grow 
weary  of  it.  I  find  Him  a  good  Master ;  and 
my  great  desire  is,  that  I  may  be  found  faith- 
ful to  Him,  even  unto  the  end." 

Again,  on  15th  February,  1887,  he  writes : 
• — "  The  Lord  is  making  His  own  Word  pierce 
the  heart  of  some  of  His  enemies  and  also  com- 
fort some  of  His  own  people.  Since  I  wrote 
you,  three  persons  have  died  in  the  faith  of 
Jesus.  Also,  let  me  mention  the  case  of  a  wo- 
man whom  I  visited.  She  kept  a  shop.  At 
first,  when  I  went  to  her,  she  did  not  care 
about  my  visits.  She  was  unwell — ^in  decline. 
She  never  spoke  to  me,  nor  asked  me  to  sit 
down.  Her  husband  went  to  the  shop  ;  but  I 
sat  down  and  spoke  to  her,  in  Scripture  lan- 
guage, first  about  her  state  as  a  sinner ;  then 
I  held  out  the  Lord  Jesus  in  all  His  fulness, 
and  power,  and  willingness  to  save ;  and  I 
prayed.  But  she  spoke  none,  neither  bade  me 
come  back.    However,  I  went  back  ;  but  still 


152  THE   MISSIOITARY  OF  KILMANY. 

I  got  no  encouragement.  I  went  again,  and 
the  Lord  blessed  His  own  "Word.  And,  when 
I  was  speaking  of  the  love  of  God  in  giving 
His  Son  to  die  for  us  sinners,  and  of  the  Son's 
love  in  giving  Himself  for  us,  the  tears  ran 
down  her  cheeks.  She  took  me  bj  the  hand, 
and  said,  *  Oh  !  when  will  you  come  again  ?' 
I  went  the  next  day,  and  I  found  a  very  differ- 
ent reception.  She  cried  out,  '  0  come  and 
tell  me  about  Jesus.'  She  lived  two  months 
after  that,  and  died  in  the  faith.  I  had  great 
comfort  in  visiting  her.  Her  husband  was  a 
man  of  the  world,  and  cared  not  for  his  soul. 
He  never  spoke  to  me :  I  believe  he  would  not 
have  let  me  in,  had  not  the  Lord  gone  with 
me.  Many  others  are  under  a  deep  concern 
about  their  souls.  I  trust  the  Lord  will  carry 
on  the  work  in  them.  Oh,  my  dear  brother,  I 
have  great  need  of  your  prayers  !" 

"  Why,"  asks  the  illustrious  Yinet,  ''  cannot 
we  accustom  your  eyes,  and  our  own,  to  that 
simple  looking  towards  Jesus,  which  has  been 
the  strength  and  unction  of  behevers  in  all  ages? 


"THE  CHEISTIAN  LOOK."  153 

Why  cannot  we  imprint  on  your  souls,  and  on 
OTir  own,  tlie  salutary  impression,  tliat  all  the 
trials,  perplexities,  and  difficulties  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  vanish  away  in  this  blessed  unity  of 
the  Christian  look  ?  This  look,  so  simple  that 
the  humblest  child  is  capable  of  it,  suffices  for 
all.  '  They  looked  to  Him,'  says  the  Psalmist, 
*and  were  enlightened' — ^.  e.,  at  once  illu- 
mined, warmed,  quickened,  consoled."  "With 
great  simplicity  of  faith  our  missionary  con- 
tinued to  direct  his  own  eye,  and  the  eye  of  all 
to  whom  he  wrote  or  spoke,  away  from  self, 
from  self's  doings,  from  self's  frames,  exclu- 
sively upon  Cheist. 

*'  I  have  no  love  to  Christ,"  said  an  anxious 
inquirer  to  him  one  day,  in  a  tone  of  great 
despondency. 

"  But,  my  dear  friend,"  was  Ms  reply, 
"  Christ  has  love  to  you." 

"  But  must  not  I  repent  first,"  said  another, 
"  and  then  go  to  Christ  ?" 

"No,  you  must  learn  to  go  to  Jesus  for 
everything  you  need.     You  need  repentance , 


154         THE  MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

but  Jesus  is  exalted  bj  God  the  Father  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  repentance.  You  need  wis- 
dom, you  need  forgiveness,  you  need  holiness ; 
but  all  these  are  His  to  give.  You  must  go 
to  Him  for  them.  Be  much  in  prayer  to  this 
precious  Saviour :  He  has  declared  that  none 
shall  seek  Him  in  vain.  Leave  off  trusting  in 
yourself,  and  cling  with  a  single  and  undivided 
heart  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  count  every- 
thing else  but  loss  that  you  may  win  Christ 
and  be  found  in  Him." 

And  to  Eobert  Edie — "  Oh  I  the  blessings, 
the  comforts  that  flow  from  the  right  knowl- 
edge of  a  crucified,  risen  Saviour.  The  study 
of  our  exalted  Lord  is,  doubtless,  to  a  believer, 
the  most  delightful  of  all  studies.  Surely  a 
whole  life  is  too  little  to  devote  to  it.  Since 
He  is,  above  all  finite  comprehension,  glorious 
in  His  person,  ofSces,  and  benefits, — there  is 
something  ever  new  and  refreshing  in  medi- 
tating upon  our  Great  High  Priest,  in  thinking 
of  Him  as  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  even 
our  life.   0  that  we  could  ever  dwell  upon  Him ! 


THE  LOYE  OF  CHRIST.  155 

"  Oh,  the  happiness  of  that  soul  that  is  in- 
terested in  Him,"  he  continues,  "  neither  men 
nor  angels  can  tell !  The  whole  world,  with 
all  the  variety  of  creatures  and  things  in  it, 
cannot  fill  the  heart  of  one  man ;  but  one 
Christ  can  fill  the  largest  soul ;  yea,  millions 
of  them,  both  in  the  upper  and  lower  worlds, 
at  once,  for  His  fulness  is  infinite.  Oh  what  a 
goodly  heritage  have  they  that  have  Christ  for 
their  portion ;  and  how  happy  are  they  who 
love  Him  most,  and  serve  Him  best !  What 
a  glorious  Master  is  Jesus  Christ !  He  pardons 
all  their  sins,  accepts  all  their  weak  services, 
yea,  gives  them  no  less  than  Himself,  for  He 
says,  '  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God.'  As  the  bread 
of  life,  they  live  upon  Him  as  the  life  of  their 
souls :  He  is  the  heavenly  manna  to  eat,  and 
He  is  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life  to  drink,  the 
streams  whereof  fill  them  with  joy  and  glad- 
ness, and  make  them  break  forth  into  singing, 
even  in  this  world.  My  dear  brother,  are  you 
not  ready  to  cry  out,  '  When  will  that  happy 
hour  arrive,  when  all  sin  shaU  be  entirely  done 


156         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

away,  and  the  dear  Saviour  and  His  redeeming 
love  be  tlie  constant  object  of  our  bappy  won- 
deriDg  souls,  and  tbe  praises  of  His  free  grace 
tbe  only  tbeme  of  all  our  joyful  songs  ?'  " 

And  to  Miss  Edie — "  God  so  loved  tbe 
world  tbat  He  gave  His  own  Son.  Christ  so 
loved  us  sinners  as  to  give  Himself  for  us.  It 
is  impossible  to  realize  sucb  love,  and  feel  no 
emotions  of  love  in  our  breasts.  Are  our  pas- 
sions frozen  to  ice, — and  shall  not  such  love 
dissolve  in  affection?  Are  our  hearts  hard 
like  adamant, — and  shall  not  such  tender  com- 
passion soften  them  ?  If  the  love  of  God  and 
the  love  of  Christ  be  shed  abroad  in  the  soul, 
it  will  cut  us  to  the  heart  to  sin  against  such 
love — ^to  open  the  wounds  of  the  Son  of  God 
afresh,  and  cause  His  blood  again  to  run  down 
His  pierced  side.  To  do  this,  would  be  to 
plant  a  dagger  in  our  own  breast." 

Luther  tells  us  that  he  did  not  learn  his 
theology  at  once,  but  that  he  had  been  search- 
ing deeper  and  deeper  into  truth, — and  to  that 
his  trials  had  brought  him.     "  Holy  writ,"  he 


SCHOOL  OF  AFFLICTION.  157 

says,  "  never  can  be  understood,  except  by  ex- 
perience and  temptations."  In  tbe  school  of 
affliction  Alexander  Paterson  was  a  frequent 
learner.  Earely  did  a  few  montbs  elapse  with- 
out a  visitation  of  sickness,  more  or  less  se- 
vere. The  effect  was  to  keep  him,  as  it  were, 
continually  looking  "  over  the  edge."  "  I 
doubt  not,"  we  find  him  writing  to  a  compan- 
ion in  tribulation,  "  but  the  Lord  has  opened 
at  times  much  of  His  love  to  your  soul,  in  the 
present  affliction.  Blessed  is  that  affliction 
which  takes  us  off  the  creature  and  the  crea- 
ture^s  things,  and  leads  us  to  cast  ourselves 
wholly  over  upon  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
centre  of  all  blessedness.  My  dear  brother, 
though  you  pass  through  much  tribulation,  the 
kingdom  is  at  the  end.  Were  our  eye  strong 
enough  to  discern  the  love  of  our  Father^s 
heart,  we  would  even  sing  in  sorrow,  yea,  take 
pleasure  in  our  distresses,  and  glorify  God  in 
the  fires. 

"  Our  affliction,"  he  continues,   "  must  be 
light  J  for  Christ  has  engaged  to  support  ua 

14 


158         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

under  it — '  unclerneatli  are  His  everlasting 
arms.'  We  have  not  been  left,  and  shall  not 
be  left,  to  go  through  any  trial  alone.  The 
Lord  Jesus  is  our  sweet  companion  in  tribula- 
tion. We  suffer  with  Christ.  Paul  says,  '  I 
fill  up  in  my  flesh  that  which  is  behind  of  the 
afflictions  of  Christ.'  Since  this  affliction  in 
your  flesh  is  Christ's,  fear  not  a  glorious  issue. 
If  you  are  one  of  the  sons  of  God,  you  shall  be 
brought  to  glory,  and  you  must  be  brought  in 
conformity  to  the  First-born  of  the  family. 
Christ  has  gone  before  us,  through  tribulation ' 
and  death,  up  to  glory,  taking  the  curse  and 
bitterness  out  of  our  pains,  and  the  sting  out  of 
OUT  death;  and  now  'tis  sweet  following  our 
Forerunner,  who  is  for  us  entered  into  the 
presence  of  His  and  our  Father." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


The  Converted  Infidels. 


"  Your  husband,  I  understand,  is  very  ill," 
he  said,  as  he  knocked  at  a  door  one  day 
in  Holyrood  street,  where  he  had  heard  that  a 
professed  infidel  was  very  sick, — "I  am  anx- 
ious to  see  him." 

Shutting  the  door  with  great  violence,  the 
woman  hastened  to  a  neighbor's  house.  Mr. 
Paterson,  however,  went  in.  The  man  he 
found  in  bed,  reading  the  newspapers. 

"What  do  you  want?"  said  he,  in  a  surly 
and  somewhat  sneering  tone. 

"You  and  I  are  strangers,"  replied  Mr. 
Paterson,  mildly,  "but  I  hope  we'll  not  be 
long  so.     I'm  a  missionary  ;  and  as  I  was  just 


160         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

going  througli  tlie  neigTibors,  I  lieard  you  were 
in  distress,  and  I  came  in  to  see  you." 

"I  don't  want  you,"  lie  said,  gruffly. 

"  But  I  want  3/0M." 

*'  And  what  d'ye  want  with  me?'* 

"  I  want  you  to  come  to  Jesus,  tlie  Saviour 
of  sinners  ;  and  He  wants  you  to  come  to  Him. 
Let  me  tell  you  it's  a  serious  thing  to  die." 

"  Oh. !  I've  made  up  my  mind  to  that ;  so 
you  need  say  no  more  to  me  about  it ;"  and, 
taking  up  the  newspapers,  he  resumed  his 
reading. 

"  What  have  you  made  up  your  mind  to  ?" 

"  Oh  1  to  die,  to  be  sure  ;  there's  nothing  for 
me  but  death." 

"Well,  but  how  is  it  to  be  with  you  after 
death  ?  You  know  that  after  death  comes  the 
judgment?" 

"  Oh !  I  want  no  more  of  you.  God  is  mer- 
ciful, and  I've  no  fear  of  Him  damning  me ; 
He  never  made  man  to  damn  him." 

"  I  know  that ;  it  is  man  that  damns  himself. 
The  Lord  says, '  You  have  destroyed  yourself' 


THE  INFIDEL.  161 

and  He  adds,  '  in  me  is  your  help.'     '  Look  to 
me,'  says  Jesus,  '  and  be  ye  saved.'  " 

'*  Oh !  I've  plenty  of  you ;  I  want  none  of 
your  talk." 

Finding  he  could  make  nothing  of  him,  he 
said  "  Will  you  allow  me  to  pray  for  you  ?" 

"  Oh !  if  you  like ;  I  don't  much  care  about 
your  prayer." 

The  missionary  prayed ;  but  the  moment  he 
began,  the  man  took  up  his  paper  and  read. 
"  I'll  come  back  and  see  you,"  said  Mr.  Pater- 
son,  when  he  had  finished  praying.  "You 
may  if  you  like,"  rejoined  the  man ;  "  but  I 
don't  care  about  your  coming."  And  he  went 
away. 

He  returned  next  week.  The  invalid's  wife 
opened  the  door,  and,  as  before,  left  the  house 
when  he  entered. 

"  How  are  you  to-day?"  said  the  missionary, 
as  he  entered,  and  found  the  man  again  in  bed 
at  the  newspapers. 

"  No  better,  and  never  will." 

"  Hadn't  you  better  go  to  the  Infirmary.'* 
14* 


162         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMAXY. 

*'  Ob.  I  I've  been  tliere  already." 

"  "Were  you  long  there  ?" 

"  No,  just  a  day ;  I  didn't  like  it.  Tliere^s 
no  use  about  it ;  I'll  never  get  better." 

"  Well,  that  may  be,  but  it  is  rigbt  to  use 
tbe  means  which  God  has  put  in  our  power, 
and  to  look  up  to  Him  for  the  blessing — " 

"  Oh  !  I  see  what  you're  to  be  at  again,"  he 
said,  hastily  interrupting  him — "  religion." 

"  I  Avant  you  to  come  to  Christ  Jesus  the 
Saviour,  who  alone  can  save  your  precious 
soul." 

"  Oh !  you  needn't  trouble  yourself  about 
that,  I've  no  fear." 

"  Perhaps  not ;  but  I  have  great  fear  that 
you  die  out  of  Christ,  in  your  sins,  and  then 
there  is  no  salvation  after  death.  Jesus  came 
into  the  world  to  seek  and  to  save  sinners,  even 
the  chief." 

"  Do  you  think  that  /  am  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners ?" 

"  Do  you  think  yourself  a  sinner  .^" 

"  Yes,  but  not  the  chief  of  them." 


THE   INFIDEL.  163 

"  "Well,  you  say  you're  a  sinner.  Then  you 
need  a  Saviour,  you  need  salvation ;  and  there 
is  no  other  name  given  under  heaven  whereby 
you  can  be  saved,  but  the  name  of  Jesus. 
And  I've  to  tell  you  that  heaven  is  a  holy 
place,  and  nothing  that  defileth,  or  worketh 
abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie,  shall  enter  into 
heaven.  Jesus  hath  said,  '  Except  a  man  be 
born  again,  he  cannot  enter  into  heaven.'  " 

"  0  !  I've  enough  of  that ;  I've  made  up  my 
mind  ;  you  needn't  say  another  word  to  me  ; 
I'll  take  my  chance." 

"  Ah !  my  dear  sir,  there  is  no  chance  in 
the  matter.  Jesus  says,  '  Marvel  not  that  I 
said  unto  you,  You  must  be  born  again.'  And 
what's  more,  Jesus  hath  said,  'Except  ye  re- 
pent, ye  shall  perish.'  '  He  that  hath  the  Son 
hath  life  ;  but  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God 
hath  not  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on 
him.'  Think,  my  friend,  of  this.  Your  soul 
is  so  precious,  that  nothing  can  redeem  it  but 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Jesus,  at  this  moment, 
stands  at  the  door  of  your  heart,  and  is  knock- 


164         THE   MISSION AKY  OF  KILMANY. 

ing  by  His  rod  and  word  and  Spirit,  saying, 
*If  3'OU  Jiear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I 
will  come  in  to  you,  and  will  sup  with  you, 
and  you  with  me.'  He  is  at  the  door  of  your 
heart,  with  a  free,  full  pardon,  ready  to  forgive 
you  all  your  sins,  willing  to  wash  you  in  His 
own  blood,  and  to  clothe  you  with  His  right- 
eousness, and  to  put  you  among  the  children." 
And  he  left  the  house. 

The  third  visit  was  like  the  preceding :  again 
the  wife  fled,  and  the  man  was  at  his  news- 
paper. 

"  Well,  have  you  been  thinking  about  what 
I  was  saying  ?!'  inquired  Mr.  Paterson,  after  a 
question  or  two  about  his  health. 

"  No,  I  haven't,"  he  replied,  angrily. 

"  I  am  grieved  to  think,  my  poor  man,  that 
you're  dying,  and  yet  unconcerned  about  an 
interest  in  Christ." 

"  I  told  you  before  that  I  had  made  up  my 
mind,  and  so  you  needn't  trouble  yourself." 

"  I  cannot  do  that,  my  friend ;  I'm  greatly 
troubled  about  your  state.     Oh  !  if  you  would 


THE  INFIDEL.  165 

lay  down  these  papers  and  go  to  your  Bible, 
you  would  see  what  you  are  as  a  sinner,  and 
what  you're  exposed  to.  You're  within  a  step 
of  death  and  hell,  where  the  mercy  of  God  is 
not  to  be  found.  Now  is  the  day  of  salvation. 
To-day  if  you  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not 
your  heart.  Let  me  tell  you,  Satan  has  got 
hold  of  your  heart,  and  he  is  blinding  your 
eyes  lest  you  should  beheve  and  be  saved. 
Oh  !  hear  the  Lord  saying,  '  Incline  your  ear, 
and  come  to  me ;  hear,  and  your  soul  shall 
live.' " 

As  he  went  on  in  this  strain,  setting  forth 
Christ  to  him,  the  man  laughed  in  his  face. 
*'  "Well,  I'll  pray  for  you,"  he  said,  "  that  the 
Lord  may  bring  you  to  a  sense  of  your  state. 
Oh !  that  He  would  quicken  you !"  He  pray- 
ed. All  the  time  the  man  read  the  newspaper. 
Having  finished  praying,  Mr.  Paterson  again 
left  the  house. 

The  next  visit  was  the  turning-point.  As 
he  entered,  the  wife  was  pressing  past  him  as 
usual,  to  get  away. 


166         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

"  Oh,  don't  go  out,"  said  the  missionary, 
kindly,  laying  his  hand  upon  her  shoulder; 
*'  I'm  sure  it's  from  the  best  motives  I  come  to 
see  your  husband.  If  I  could  do  any  good, 
either  to  his  body  or  to  his  soul,  I  would  will- 
ingly do  it ;  just  sit  down."  She  sat  down ;  and 
Mr.  Paterson  began  to  speak  to  her  husband  a 
little ;  but  he  found  him  as  hard-hearted  as  ever. 

"  I'll  pray  for  you  once  more,"  he  said. 
And  as  he  began,  the  poor  man  resumed  his 
newspaper.  But  before  he  had  prayed  a  few 
minutes,  the  paper  fell  from  his  hand.  "When 
the  prayer  was  concluded,  he  was  bathed  in 
tears,  and  so  also  was  his  wife. 

''  Oh  !"  he  said,  with  a  faltering  voice,  and 
grasping  the  missionary  by  the  hand,  "  will 
you  come  back  and  see  me  ?" 

"  I  will,  with  all  my  heart."  And  he  left 
them  both  in  tears. 

"  Come  away,  I'm  glad  to  see  you,"  was  the 
joyful  welcome  of  the  dying  man,  as  Mr. 
Paterson  entered  the  next  day,  and  found  him 
poring  over  the  Bible. 


THE   INFIDEL.  167 

"  I*m  glad  to  see  that  book  in  your  hands," 
said  he ;  "  what  has  led  you  to  lay  aside  the 
newspaper  and  turn  to  that  ?" 

"  Oh,  sir,  it  was  your  last  prayer.  I  felt  my 
heart  melted  ;  and  ever  since,  I've  felt  myself 
to  be  in  an  awful  state.  Oh,  what  a  sinner 
I've  been !  All  that  you've  said  of  me  as  a 
sinner  was  true." 

"  Well  I  have  said  just  what  that  blessed 
book  says  of  myself,  and  of  every  one  who  is 
out  of  Christ.  But  Christ  died  for  the  chief 
of  sinners ;  His  blood  was  shed  for  you  and 
for  me.  Hear  what  He  says — '  If  we  confess 
our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us 
our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright- 
eousness.' And  once  the  Lord  forgives,  He 
also  forgets.  Hear  again  what  He  says — '  I 
will  be  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and 
their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember 
no  more ;'  and  again,  '  He  will  cast  all  your 
sins  into  the  depths  of  the  sea.'  " 

"  But  I  feel  as  if  the  Lord  would  not  receive 
me,  the  way  I've  been  living.    I  had  no  con- 


168         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

ception  I  was  sucli  a  sinner  as  I  am.  The 
more  I  tliink  of  myself,  and  of  the  way  I've 
spent  my  days,  the  more  I  wonder  I'm  out 
of  hell.  How  had  you  such  patience  with 
me?" 

"  Surely  I  should  have  patience,  when  I 
think  of  the  patience  and  long-suffering  of  my 
God — ^He  waited  long  on  me." 

"Did  He?" 

"  Yes,  he  waited,  and  called  again  and  again 
upon  me ;  but  at  length  He  made  me  willing 
in  the  day  of  His  power.  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  you  shall  be  saved.  Just  go 
to  Him  as  a  poor  condemned  sinner,  and  He 
will  give  you  an  instant  pardon." 

"Oh  1  do  you  think  so ?"  he  rejoined  ear- 
nestly. 

"  Yes  I  do,  because  He  says  so.  He  says, 
*  Seek  the  Lord  while  He  is  to  be  found,  call 
upon  Him  while  He  is  near.'  Now,  at  this 
very  moment,  He  is  near  you  by  His  word. 
Then  He  adds,  'Let  the  wicked  forsake  his 
way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts, 


THE  INFIDEL.  169 

and  let  liim  return  unto  tlie  Lord,  and  He  will 
have  mercy  upon  Mm ;  and  to  our  God,  for 
He  will  abundantly  pardon.'  ITow,  will  you 
tliink  upon  these  truths  till  I  call  again,  for 
they  are  God's  truths  ?" 

The  man  took  hold  of  him  by  the  hand. 
"  I  can't  let  you  go  away,"  he  said ;  "  you  will 
pray  for  me."    He  prayed, 

"  Oh !  don't  be  long  in  coming  back,"  he 
said,  "  I  weary  for  your  coming." 

"  Well,  will  you  ponder  what  I've  been  say- 
ing ?  and  remember,  pray  to  God,  that  by  His 
Spirit  He  would  make  you  know  these  truths, 
and  to  feel  their  power." 

"  I  will." 

And  with  difficulty  he  got  away. 

"  Well,  how  are  you  to-day  ?"  asked  Mr. 
Paterson,  the  next  time  he  called. 

"  Much  weaker,  but  much  happier.  I  think 
I  can  now  lay  hold  of  Jesus  as  my  only  Sa- 
viour— I  can  trust  on  Him  now.  I  can  cast 
on  Him  all  my  sins.    I  believe  that  He  died 

for  imgodly  me.     Oh,  these  were  precious 

15 


170         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

words  you  spoke  to  me  of  last.    I've  been 
looking  at  them,  and  praying  over  them." 

"  Are  you  suffering  as  mucli  pain  as  you 
did?" 

"  Yes ;  but,  d'ye  know,  I  can  bear  it  better 
now." 

"  Ob,  sir,"  said  bis  wife,  "  every  time  you 
come,  be  seems  to  get  more  patience  and  sub- 
mission. D'ye  know,  be's  just  another  man. 
He  never  prayed  before,  neither  did  I ;  but 
now  he's  often  praying  in  the  night,  and  also 
through  the  day." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Jesus  now  ?"  said 
the  missionary,  turning  to  the  dying  man. 

"  I'm  sure  I  can  say  He  is  my  Friend,  my 
Saviour,  my  Eedeemer,  for  He  has  redeemed 
my  soul  from  sin.  Yes,  He  has  given  me  to 
hate  itj  and  to  love  Him  whom  once  I  hated. 
Oh,  that  blessed  book  I"  he  added,  taking  up 
the  Bible.  *'  I  once  hated  it,  but  now  I  love 
it ;  and  its  sweet  promises,  how  they  comfort 
me  in  my  affliction !  Blessed,  sweet  Jesus ! 
None  but  Christ  for  me  I" 


THE  INFIDEL.  171 

"  He  lingered  on,"  says  Mr.  Paterson,  "  in 
this  blessed  state  of  mind  for  several  weeks, 
rejoicing  in  Christ.  At  intervals  lie  fell  into 
darkness,  but  it  was  only  when  lie  tnrned  in 
upon  bimself.  The  moment  he  looked  to  the 
Saviour,  he  got  light  and  peace." 

Another  infidel  was  found  "  sitting  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind." 
The  case  occurred  at  Wright's  Houses,  a  vil- 
lage near  Edinburgh,  where,  at  the  request  of 
Mr.  Douglas  of  Cavers,  he,  in  1840,  had  begun 
to  hold  a  weekly  meeting. 

The  meeting  was  held  in  the  house  of  an 
old  man  and  his  wife,  who  had  been  unable 
to  attend  Church  for  several  years.  The  first 
night  the  meeting  was  fall,  and  it  continued  so 
for  five  years,  when  he  was  obliged  to  give  it 
up.  The  average  number  was  twenty-four. 
They  were  mostly  women,  very  poor,  who 
made  their  livehhood  by  washing  and  dressing 
clothes ;  but  so  very  anxious  were  they  to  at- 
tend the  meeting,  that  they  rose  an  hour  earlier 
that  morning  to  be  in  time  for  it. 


172         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

"Your  labors,"  said  a  lady  to  liim  one 
morning,  about  tbree  months  after  tbe  meeting 
was  begun,  "  bave  been  very  much  blessed  at 
tbat  meeting." 

"  I  did  not  know  tbat,"  said  Mr.  Paterson, 
"  I've  seen  no  fruits  of  it  as  yet." 

"I  bave  seen  tbe  fruits  of  it,"  sbe  said, 
"  upon  poor  John  Dick.  I  bave  visited  biTn 
for  fifteen  years,  and  be  was  a  confirmed  infi- 
del. Any  time  I  called  upon  bim,  I  found  bim 
reading  infidel  books;  and  be  at  all  times 
treated  me  witb  tbe  utmost  contempt,  scoffing 
in  a  manner  wbicb  made  me  sbudder  wbenever 
I  mentioned  tbe  name  of  Jesus.  Knowing  tbe 
meeting  was  beld  in  bis  bouse,  I  went  in  one 
day,  and  to  my  great  surprise  I  found  bim 
reading  tbe  Bible." 

"  '  Jobn,^  I  said,  *  wbat  is  tbis  you  are  read- 
ing?' . 

*' '  Ob  I  madam,'  be  replied,  *  it  is  tbe  Word 
of  God — ^tbe  Bible  I've  so  long  neglected  and 
despised.' 

"  '  Wbat  do  you  tbink  now  of  Jesus  ?' 


THE  INFIDEL.  173 

"  '  Ob,  wliat  a  sinner  I've  been  !'  he  exclaim 
ed,  bursting  into  tears. 

"  '  What  led  jou  to  look  at  the  Bible  ?' 

"  '  'Twas  that  first  night  the  meeting  waa 
here.  I'll  never  forget  that  night.  I  got  such 
a  view  of  myself  that  my  heart  condemned  me ; 
and  God,  you  know,  is  greater  than  my  heart ; 
He  knoweth  all  things.  What  I  heard  about 
the  carnal  mind,  that  it  was  enmity  against 
God  and  against  Christ,  and  against  His  Word, 
and  when  I  heard  of  the  love  of  God  to  such 
sinners  as  me,  and  of  the  love  of  Jesus  to  die 
for  such  sinners  as  me — oh,  when  I  heard  all 
that,  my  hard  heart  was  broken  I  Oh,  I  can- 
not think  of  Jesus  but  my  heart  melts!'  " 

From  that  time  he  read  no  more  of  the  infi- 
del books.  Like  the  converts  of  Ephesus,  he 
put  them  into  the  fire.  The  Bible  became  his 
daily  delight  and  companion.  Before,  he  had 
been  a  very  discontented  man — nothing  which 
they  could  give  him  would  please  him ;  but 
now  he  became  like  a  little  child — ^he  was  con- 
tented with  everything.    He  seemed  to  be 

15* 


174         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

wliollj  a  new  creature ;  old  habits  were  given 
up,  all  tilings  became  new. 

At  the  time  when  this  change  took  place,  he 
was  above  seventy  years  of  age.  "  You  see," 
he  used  often  to  say,  "  what  grace  can  do  ;  it 
is  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am." 

Our  missionary  never  debated  with  infidels. 
His  one  weapon  was  the  Word  of  God.  That 
weapon  was  always  ready,  and  he  found  it 
mighty,  through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of 
Satan's  strongholds. 

He  had  a  happy  way  of  disarming  the  hos- 
tility even  of  the  most  fiercely  prejudiced. 
"  I'll  fight  you,"  said  a  scoffer  to  him  one  day, 
whom  his  plain  speaking  had  at  a  former  visit 
greatly  enraged.  "  Stop,  then,"  replied  the 
missionary  good-humoredly,  "stop  till  I  get 
out  my  sword."  He  took  his  Bible  from  his 
pocket.  "  This,"  he  added,  "  is  my  sword ;  I 
never  fight  with  anything  but  this."  The  man 
was  subdued  in  an  instant,  and  began  to  listen 
most  attentively  to  the  "Word. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Missionary's  Home— Sanctified  Affections— Hia  Son— "Child  of 
many  Prayers" — Other  Homes— Manse  of  Logie— The  Savor  of  the 
Ointment — The  Secret  of  his  Usefulness— Christ's  "  Love  Visits"— The 
Yorkshire  Shoemaker — His  Method  with  Souls — Mr.  Paterson's 
Method— An  Example — Urgent  Dealing — A  Test — The  Success — 
Watching— The  Furnace. 

"  I  WILL  walk  witliiii  my  liouse  with  a  per- 
fect heart."  SiicIl  is  tlie  Bible's  picture  of  a 
Christian  Home.  The  reader  may  desire  a 
glimpse  into  the  home  of  our  missionary.  He 
was  a  man  of  warm  affections ;  and  these  affec- 
tions grace  did  not  deaden,  but  sanctify  and 
deepen. 

"  The  Lord  has  taken  a  very  deep  interest 
in  me  and  my  family  this  winter,"  he  writes  on 
8th  April,  1848.  "■  He  laid  His  kind  loving 
hand  upon  me,  and  kept  it  on  me  for  six 
weeks.    The  doctor  thought  I  was  to  go ;  but 


176         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

my  God  thought  otherwise,  and  lifted  me  up 
again.  I  was  just  two  weeks  out  at  my  work, 
when  He  came  ^dth  another  love-visit,  and 
laid  His  hand  upon  my  son.  It  seemed  as  if 
He  were  to  take  him  away  from  us.  But  oh, 
my  dear  brother,  I  must  say  I  was  most  rebel- 
lious in  this  ;  I  could  not  get  my  mind  brought 
to  part  with  him.  Our  dear  minister  was  very 
kind ;  he  came  every  day ;  and  although  it 
was  one  of  the  worst  of  fevers,  he  went  in  to 
him — ^he  would  not  stay  away  from  him.  But, 
thanks  be  to  our  God,  He  has  restored  him. 
Oh,  for  grace  to  make  us  and  ours  meet  for 
glory !  How  should  everything  else  be  un- 
dervalued and  rejected,  which  would  divert, 
retard,  or  hinder  us  from  pursuing,  till  we  ob- 
tain the  crown !" 

To  his  son,  thus  raised  up,  and  afterwards 
appointed  a  teacher  at  Birr  in  Ireland,  he 
writes  on  6th  December,  1848  : — "  You  say  in 
your  welcome  letter,  which  made  all  our  hearts 
glad,  that  although  your  mother  shoidd  not 
write  you,  she  will  not  cease  to  pray  for  you. 


HIS  SON.  177 

Oh,  that  is  true ;  you  indeed  have  a  kind,  lov- 
ing, praying  mother,  who  will  never  cease  to 
pray  for  you  while  she  has  a  being.  You  are 
a  child  of  many  prayers.  Surely  I  must  for- 
get myself,  when  I  forget  to  pray  for  you  who 
are  so  near  and  dear  to  me.  May  you  be  en- 
abled to  keep  such  a  watch  over  all  your 
thoughts,  words,  and  actions,  that  His  Spirit 
may  delight  to  dwell  in  you  I  May  you  be 
enabled  to  come  out  of  yourself,  and  to  trust 
only  in  Christ  for  grace,  and  strength,  and 
wisdom  I  Oh  I  see  that  you  walk  much  with 
God." 

And  again,  on  9th  October,  1850, — "Oh, 
my  dear  son,  it  is  to  have  daily  communion 
with  the  Father  and  with  the  Son — it  is  a  liv- 
ing for  Christ — it  is  a  dying  to  sin — ^it  is  a  liv- 
ing in  Christ — a  living  out  of  ourselves  upon 
Him  who  is  the  bread  of  life — ^it  is  a  coming, 
ever  coming,  to  Him  the  living  stone — it  is  the 
every  day  putting  on  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord, 
and  the  making  no  provision  to  the  fulfilling 
of  the  lusts  of  the  flesh, — this  is  the  Hfe  of  a 


178         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

believer  in  Christ.  The  Lord  bless  you,  and 
keep  you  from  the  evil,  and  at  last  take  you  to 
glory !" 

The  same  savor  of  Christ  he  carried  with 
him  into  other  homes.  "His  first  visits  to  the 
Manse  of  Logie,''  says  one  of  our  informants, 
"  were  after  a  severe  illness,  when  he  was  or- 
dered to  leave  Edinburgh  for  a  time  to  recruit 
his  wasted  strength.  These  visits  were  con- 
tinued to  the  last  year  of  his  life,  for  a  period 
of  about  twenty  years.  They  were  annually 
anticipated  with  ardent  longing  by  the  inmates 
of  the  manse.  His  whole  demeanor  was  full 
of  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ.  We 
all,  as  a  family,  valued  him  as  our  beloved 
friend,  our  comforter  in  affliction,  our  coun- 
sellor in  difficulties,  perplexities,  and  trials, — 
the  sharer  of  our  joys  and  sorrows.  His  very 
presence  was  soothing ;  in  the  time  of  trouble, 
it  was  not  only  sympathy  which  he  bestowed, 
but  something  which  healed  and  bound  up  the 
wounded  heart." 

What  was  it  which  gave  this  peculiar  charm 


OTHER  HOMES.  179 

to  his  presence  ?  "  When  Jesus  is  present 
with  us,"  we  find  him  writing  to  one  of  the 
inmates  of  the  manse,  "He  sweetens  all." 
There  is  the  secret.  Walking  day  by  day  in 
His  fellowship,  he  knew  how 

"  To  blend  with  outward  things, 
Whilst  keeping  at  His  side." 

"  I  bless  God,"  are  some  of  his  words  to  an 
afflicted  member  of  that  family,  "  for  that  com- 
fortable entertainment  which  our  dear  Saviour 
gave  you  in  the  time  of  your  sickness.  Oh, 
blessed  be  God  for  the  savor  of  His  sweet 
ointments,  which  drew  out  your  soul  after 
Him  I  Blessed  be  God  for  His  Almighty 
Spirit,  which  made  you  so  eagerly  desirous  of 
the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ !" 

And  again: — "If  any  despise  the  good 
ways  of  the  Lord  and  His  work,  I  trust  we  can 
justify  them  by  our  own  experience.  Let  us 
all  labor  after  farther  measures  of  grace — more 
holiness,  faith,  love,  patience,  meekness,  that 
we  may  let  all  see  that  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is 


180         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

in  Tis  of  a  trutli.  Oh  for  more  intimate  ac- 
quaintance and  communion  with  God !  Tho 
way  of  the  Lord  is  said  to  be  strength  to  the 
upright;  and  I  am  sure  that  the  further  we 
walk  in  it,  the  better  we  find  it.  I  long  to  see 
you  all;  and  when  we  meet,  may  Jesus  be 
with  us  I" 

And  to  the  same  friend: — "My  soul  was 
much  refreshed,  when  I  was  under  your  roof. 
We  should  be  very  high  in  one  another's  affec- 
tions. Yes,  as  the  children  of  God,  we  should 
delight  in  the  company  of  one  another,  God 
delights  in  the  society  of  the  saints ;  so  should 
we.  Yea,  we  should  be  ready  to  help  one  an- 
other, and  to  do  one  another  good — ^to  admon- 
ish one  another,  and  exhort  one  another,  and 
provoke  one  another  to  love  and  to  good  works. 
But  what  need  of  grace,  to  do  this  in  the  spirit 
of  Christ  I" 

Every  house  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
frequenting,  he  filled  with  a  like  savor  of  the 
ointment.  "I  hope,"  he  writes  to  another 
friend,  "  that  Jesus  has  given  you  many  a  love- 


THE  SAVOR  OP  THE  OINTMENT.         181 

visit.  He  sometimes  shuts  up  His  people  in 
affliction,  just  in  order  that  He  may  have  a 
little  more  of  their  company.  I  trust  that  you 
can  say  He  has  come  in  to  you  and  spoken  to 
your  heart  words  of  comfort,  and  that  He  has 
made  the  sun  of  righteousness  to  shine  in  upon 
your  soul.  When  the  natural  sun  shines  upon 
this  earth,  all  the  stars  disappear ;  so  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  comes  in  to  our  souls,  the 
things  of  time  lose  their  hold  of  our  hearts, 
— ^we  can  say,  '  What  have  I  to  do  any  more 
with  idols  ?  Christ  is  all  in  all.'  " 

To  another  fellow-pilgrim  he  writes : — 
"  Having  heard  that  you  are  yet  on  this  side 
glory,  travelling  through  the  wilderness,  it  is 
on  my  heart  to  have  a  little  talk  with  you  by 
the  way;  but  by  reason  of  distance,  paper- 
converse  is  all  that  can  be  attained.  A  weary 
traveller  may  be  glad  to  embrace  the  rock  for 
a  shelter,  and  sit  down  under  its  shade  for 
awhile,  to  protect  him  from  the  scorching  sun ; 
but  if  he  sit  there  long,  he  may  starve  and  die 
for  want  of  sustenance.    It  is  not  so  with  him 

16 


182         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

"wlio  sits  down  under  the  rock — Clirist.  No, 
-wlierever  Christ  is  a  rock  for  defence,  He  is 
:also  a  fountain,  a  store-house  for  supply.  To 
the  soul  that  has  the  munition  of  rocks  for  its 
<  defence,  bread,  the  bread  of  life,  shall  be  given, 
.  and  its  waters  of  consolation  shall  be  sure.  I 
hope  your  brother  is  casting  a  longing  eye  to 
>  Jesus  ?  May  Jesus  look  upon  him,  and  draw 
his  heart  to  himself!  I  wish  you  may  be 
blessed  with  a  growing  communion  with 
Christ,  an  increasing  conformity  to  Him,  and  a 
rich  increase  of  all  grace  unto  all  glory.  I  de- 
sire your  prayers  for  us.  Eemember  the  Thurs- 
days.    I  rest  yours  in  Christ  forever." 

It  is  recorded  of  a  Yorkshire  shoemaker, 

■that,  after  his  own  conversion,  he  was  known 

•.to  have  been   honored   of  God  to   bring  to 

^Christ  not  fewer  than  a  hundred  souls.     His 

;method  was  peculiar.     He  selected  a  particular 

-neighbor  or  friend  ;  he  concentrated  upon  him 

his  special  prayers,  and  anxieties,  and  urgencies ; 

and  he  did  not  rest  until  either  the  Lord  gave 

him  that  soul,  or  the  door  was  manifestly  shut 


HIS  METHOD  WITH  SOULS.  183 

Similar  was  the  method  of  our  missionarj. 
"Whilst  sowing  his  seed  beside  all  waters,  he 
was  ever  watching  for  some  individual  soul  as 
intently  as  if  his  one  business  in  the  world 
were  that  soul's  conversion  or  growth  in  grace. 
And  nowhere  were  his  appliances  more  ear- 
nestly put  forth,  than  in  the  circle  of  his  im- 
mediate relatives  or  friends.  We  select  a  sin- 
gle example. 

"  Ask  your  own  soul,"  he  writes  to  a  nephew 
in  Fife,  "  '  have  I  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  ?'  for,  in  believing,  you  have  life 
through  His  name,  even  life  eternal.  And  if 
you  have  believed  on  Him,  you  will  no  longer 
live  in  the  indulgence  of  sin.  If  we  live  in 
sin,  we  live  in  unbelief  There  are  many  who 
live  in  unbelief,  and  are  admired  by  their  fel- 
low-men ;  but,  when  weighed  in  the  balance, 
they  shall  be  found  wanting.  There  are  many 
who  call  Christ  Lord,  whose  works  will  testify, 
in  that  day,  that  they  were  not  led  by  His 
Spirit,  and  consequently  were  none  of  His. 
He  will  say  to  such,  '  I  never  knew  you ;  de- 


184         THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY. 

part,  je  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels.'  Then  those  who 
have  been  able  to  impose  either  on  themselves 
or  on  their  fellow-creatures,  by  a  specious  yet 
barren  profession,  will  find  that  God  is  not 
mocked, — ^the  secrets  of  their  hearts  will  be 
laid  open,  and  the  tree  will  be  made  known  by 
its  fruits. 

"You  must  stand,"  he  continues  in  the  same 
letter,  "  before  the  Judge  of  the  quick  and  the 
dead.  What  can  possibly  support  you  in  that 
day  ?  Only  the  power  and  friendship  of  the 
Saviour.  And  how  is  your  mind  now  affected 
towards  him  ?  Have  you  taken  refuge  under 
the  shadow  of  His  wings  ?  Is  His  blood  your 
only  plea?  Have  you  no  confidence  in  the 
flesh,  and  are  you  counting  all  things  but  loss 
for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  Are  you  denying  yourself,  taking  up 
your  cross  and  following  Jesus?  Are  you, 
through  the  supply  of  His  Spirit,  mortifying 
the  deeds  of  the  body,  and  yielding  obedience 
to  His  commandments  ?" 


HIS  METHOD  WITH  SOULS.  185 

Again  lie  writes,' — "  You  stated  in  your  last 
letter  what  you  believed  in.  Your  faith  in 
tliese  things  is  just  what  thousands  have  ;  and 
yet  their  faith  has  less  influence  upon  their  lifo 
and  conversation  than  many  who  are  in  hell. 
We  see  many  who  have  a  name  to  live,  and 
yet  are  dead, — who  have  a  form  of  godliness, 
yet  deny  its  power.  I  do  not  say  this  to  dis- 
courage you,  but  to  make  you  jealous  of  your 
own  self.  If  you  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  you  will 
be  dead  to  sin,  but  alive  unto  God, — though, 
sin  will  not  be  dead  in  you.  A  sinner  out  of 
Christ  is  all  on  the  side  of  sin;  he  is  dead 
while  he  lives,  and  is  apt  to  say, '  Peace,  peace,* 
while  God  says,  '  there  is  no  peace.'  Ask 
these  short  questions,  whereby  to  know  whether 
your  heart  be  truly  changed  : — 

"1.  Hath  thine  heart  been  turned  into  sor- 
row for  sin  ? 

"2.  Hath  thy  sorrow  been  turned  into 
prayer  ? 

"  3.  Hath  thy  prayer  been  turned  into 
faith? 

16* 


186         THE  MISSIONARY  OP  KILMANY. 

"  4.  Hath,  ihj  faith  issued  in  iiniversal  ten- 
derness and  obedience  ? 

"  To  those  that  believe, — 

"  (1.)  Christ  is  precious. 

"  (2.)  The  word  of  Jesus  is  sweet.  It  was 
so  to  Job  and  David ;  so  will  it  be  to  you. 

"  (3.)  Sin  is  bitter.     It  was  so  to  Peter. 

"(4.)  Prayer  is  delightful.  It  was  so  to 
David ;  so  will  it  be  to  you. 

"  (5.)  Saints  are  dear ;  because  they  are  the 
children  of  the  same  Father,  they  love  one 
another.  No  sooner  had  Paul  heard  of  any  one 
soul  believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  than 
he  said,  '  I  cease  not  to  make  mention  of  him 
in  my  prayers.' 

"  (6.)  Eeligion  is  their  business ;  and  unless 
it  be  so,  it  goes  for  nothing. 

"  (7.)  The  world  was  once  their  idol ;  but 
now  it  is  a  broken  idol." 

And  six  months  later — ■"  How  is  your  soul 
prospering  ?  Are  you  hearkening  to  Christ's 
voice  ?  You  may  say,  '  what  is  that  ?'  I  will 
tell  you.     His  voice  to  you  is,  '  Open  the  dool 


AN  EXAMPLE.  187 

of  your  heart,  and  I  will  come  in  I'  And  when 
He  conies  into  your  heart,  He  will  bring  all 
the  benefits  of  His  purchase  with  Him,  to  en- 
tertain and  feast  your  soul.  He  brings  pardon, 
and  peace,  and  light,  and  life,  and  grace,  and 
glory.  Yes,  He  that  is  the  Ej.ng  of  Gllory,  and 
the  Friend  of  sinners,  will  come  in  to  enlighten 
your  soul;  for  the  soul  is  a  dark  dungeon, 
while  Christ  is  shut  out.  He  wiU  come  in,  to 
adorn  and  enrich  the  soul  with  the  ornaments 
and  treasures  of  His  grace.  He  will  come  in, 
to  reign  in  the  soul,  and  will  put  down  the 
tyrant  that  hath  so  long  oppressed  you.  And 
when  He  has  come  into  your  soul,  there  will 
be  fellowship  betwixt  Jesus  and  yoU' — fellow- 
ship in  eating  and  drinking  with  one  another. 
"So,  if  you  open,"  he  proceeds,  ''  the  door 
of  your  heart  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  He  will 
sup  with  you ;  and  oh,  how  rare  are  Christ's 
dainties !  His  hidden  manna,  the  fruits  of  the 
tree  of  life,  the  grapes  of  Canaan,  the  bread 
that  comes  down  from  heaven  !  Oh,  how  ex- 
cellent is  the  water  of  life!  one  drop  of  it 


188         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

would  be  an  everlasting  spring  in  thy  soul, 
whicli  would  keep  tliee  from  thirsting  after  the 
creature  any  more.  Oh,  what  a  rich  feast  are 
the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  quickened  to  a  lively 
exercise !  What  a  blessed  feast  is  pardon  of 
sin,  and  peace  with  God,  and  peace  with  the 
law,  and  interest  in  Christ  Jesus  and  in  all  His 
saving  blessings ! 

"  Oh,  my  dear  sir,  cast  yourself  down  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  Are  you  so  convinced  and 
humbled  by  the  sight  of  your  misery,  as  to  be 
content  with  freedom  from  it  on  any  terms  ? 
Are  you  well  pleased  with  the  new  covenant, 
and  the  self-denying  way  of  saving  sinners  by 
Christ's  imputed  righteousness?  Have  you 
given  up  yourself  to  the  Lord,  to  #ve  for 
Him, — desirous  that  His  love  may  always  con- 
strain you  to  do  His  will  ?" 

Putting  the  urgent  dealing  in  another  form, 
he  writes — "  Choose  God,  my  dear  friend,  for 
your  portion;  remember,  the  soul  which  was 
made  for  God  can  find  no  happiness  but  in 
God.     '  Arise,  for  this  is  not  your  rest.'    Let 


URGENT  DEALING.  189 

the  sinfulness  of  your  nature  be  your  greatest 
burden.  Have  you  taken  Jesus  for  your  only 
Lord  ?  Are  you  resolved  to  be  His  for  time 
and  for  eternity  ?  Are  you  willing  to  give  up 
all  for  Him,  and  to  follow  tbe  Lamb  wbitber- 
soever  He  goeth  ?" 

The  importunate  urgency  was  not  in  vain. 
"  You  said,"  we  find  him  writing  afterwards, 
"  that  you  were  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire. 
Oh!  I  am  glad  to  think  that  you  are  now 
cleaving  to  the  Lord.  Oh,  be  for  Him  and  not 
for  another ;  and  be  resolved  that  whatsoever 
others  may  do  or  say,  you  will  be  for  the  Lord. 
Give  yourself  to  the  conduct  of  God's  Spirit, 
depending  upon  Him  at  all  times  for  direction 
and  through-bearing.  And  see  that  you  also 
make  choice  of  the  fearers  of  the  Lord  for  your 
companions,  and  that  you  follow  them  no 
farther  than  they  follow  Christ.  If  any  man 
or  any  woman  would  draw  you  away  from 
Christ,  forsake  their  company,  be  they  who 
they  will." 

Watching  over  the  growth  of  the  tender 


190         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

plant,  lie  again  writes, — "Are  you  bringing 
forth  fruit  ?  And  is  this  fruit  '  holiness  to  the 
Lord  ?'  Do  you  walk  with  God  ?  Is  Christ 
your  life  ?  Do  you  live  for  Christ,  think  for 
Christ,  speak  for  Christ,  act  for  Christ  ?  I  am 
glad  that  you  have  become  a  Sabbath-school 
teacher.  This  a  most  important  work.  Oh 
that  the  Lord  would  teach  you  by  His  Spirit, 
so  that  you  may  teach  others !  And  mind 
your  daily  deportment  in  the  world,  lest  you 
cast  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  others." 
And,  stimulating  him  to  earnest  contending, 
as  well  as  gently  warning  him,  he  says: — 
"  Oh,  sin,  cursed  sin,  and  vile  world,  and  flesh, 
which  take  our  hearts  off  from  God  and  the 
Lamb,  and  heaven  and  glory,  and  which  de- 
lude and  bewitch  us  and  thousands,  that  we 
will  not  live  for  God  and  for  Jesus  Christ,  even 
for  Him  who  died  for  us !  and  that  we  have 
such  hearts  within  us  that  we  love  the  creature 
more  than  we  love  God !  And  how  prone  are 
we  to  think  ourselves  to  be  something,  when 
we  are  nothing !     And  why,"  he  proceeds,  "  is 


WATCHING  FOR  SOULS.  191 

all  this  ?  Just  because  we  do  not,  by  faitb,  see 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  There  is  many  a 
poor  soul  that  has  a  humbling  sense  of  its  ex- 
ceeding sinfulness,  but  there  it  stops  mourning 
and  chattering  like  a  crane  or  a  swallow.  Oh ! 
let  us  not  stand  still  looking  within  ;  for  there 
is  nothing  but  sin  and  corruption  in  our  souls. 
We  are  called  to  look  out  of  ourselves  to 
Christ.  He  says — '  Behold  me,  behold  me,' 
and,  '  Look  unto  me,  even  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  be  ye  saved.'  We  must  do  as  the 
poor  leper  did — go  to  Christ ;  and  He  will  save 
us  with  an  everlasting  salvation.  Oh  my  dear 
Christian  friend,  let  us  not  be  content  with  re- 
ceiving grace  :  we  must  grow  in  grace,  and  we 
must  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God ;  and  that  fruit 
must  be  unto  holiness  ;  then  shall  our  end  be 
everlasting  life." 

Some  years  later,  we  find  him  still  watching 
over  that  soul.  "  Are  you  growing  in 
heavenly-mindedness  ?"  he  writes.  Are  you 
growing  in  heart-holiness?  Are  you  loving 
the  world  less,  and  loving  God  more,  and  the 


192         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ  more,  and  tlie  "Word  more  ? 
Are  you  living  upon  Jesus  and  His  Word? 
Never  be  ashamed,  my  young  friend,  to  confess 
a  crucified  Christ.  The  heart  that  is  divided 
in  its  affections,  can  have  no  true  peace,  no 
communion  or  fellowship  with  the  holy  Jesus. 
If  we  have  tasted  that  He  is  gracious,  and 
have  felt  His  love  in  our  souls,  and  now  find 
that  He  is  withdrawn,  and  that  a  cloud  over- 
spreads our  hearts,  I  believe  we  shall  find,  on 
a  strict  search  into  them,  that  we  are  fallen 
fi:om  our  steadfastness — ^that  we  have  admitted 
some  rival  of  His  in  into  our  hearts.  There- 
fore, under  desertion,  we  ought  to  search  our 
hearts  diligently,  and  to  be  earnest  with  God 
to  show  us  our  hidden  sins — never  taking  any 
rest  to  ourselves  under  the  hidings  of  His  face, 
but  seeking  Him  with  earnest  and  restless  de- 
sires, until  we  find  the  consolation  of  His  Holy 
Spirit  return  into  our  souls." 

And  again,  in  1848, — "Oh,  what  want  of 
living  for  Him  who  died  for  usl  When  we 
look  around  us  among  those  who  profess  to  be 


WATCHING   FOR  SOULS.  193 

the  Lord's,  how  few  do  we  find  to  be  wholly  on 
the  Lord's  side.  Iniquity  doth,  abound,  and 
the  love  of  many  waxes  cold.  Oh,  my  dear 
friend,  let  us  live  upon  Christ,  upon  His 
righteousness,  yea,  upon  His  blood.  Let  us  go 
up  all  the  way  through  this  world,  leaning 
upon  Christ  our  Beloved.  Let  us  see  that  we 
are  amongst  the  broken-hearted,  who  are  hearti- 
ly grieved  for  all  known  sin." 

And  once  more, — "  Give  glory  to  God.  He 
has  been  at  work  with  you — He  has  had  you 
in  the  furnace  for  the  purpose  that  you  might 
be  refined.  He  hath  said  that  many  shall  be 
purified,  and  made  white,  and  tried.  And 
mark  how  He  is  to  do  it, — '  I  will,  saith  the 
Lord,  bring  the  third  part  through  the  fire.' 
You  see  He  does  not  send  them.  He  brings 
them.  '  And  I  will  refine  them  as  silver  is  re- 
fined, and  will  try  them  as  gold  is  tried.* 
Now,  obser^'-e  what  the  Lord  says  they  will  do. 
*  They  shall  call  on  my  name,  and  I  will  hear 
them.  I  will  say.  It  is  my  people ;  and  they 
shall  say,  The  Lord  is  my  God.'    Are  you  dis- 

17 


194         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

posed  from  tlie  heart  to  call  upon  the  Lord  ? 
and  bj  faith  can  jou  say  from  the  heart, 
'  Thou  art  my  God  ?'  Seek  to  be  filled  with 
the  Spirit ;  for  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  dwelling 
in  you,  can  alone  enable  you  to  be  holy.  Is 
Christ  as  precious  now  as  when  the  hand  of 
God  was  on  you  ?  As  long  as  you  are  in  the 
world;  you  will  need  to  wash  your  feet.  Come 
death  wlion  it  will,  let  it  find  you  at  the  foun- 
tain, alwfiys  looking  to,  and  making  use  of 
Jesus  Chiist." 


CHAPTER  X. 


The  Pharisee— The  "Good  Heart"— "A  Quiet  Neighbor"— The  Awaken- 
ing—A Living  Epistle— The  Blind  Schoolmaster— "Light  in  the 
Lord"- The  Hovel— "A  Father  to  me"— Tact  in  Admonition — 
Another  Sheaf. 


"  Every  man,"  it  has  been  said,  "  is  born  a 
Pharisee."  Our  missionary  bad  a  singular 
skill  in  laying  bare  tbe  Pharisee's  self-right- 
eousness. 

"  You  know,"  said  he  one  day  to  a  woman 
he  was  visiting,  who  had  been  for  some  time 
confined  to  bed,  and  was  now  very  weak,  "  we 
are  by  nature  dead  in  sin,  we  are  lying  under 
the  curse  of  a  broken  law,  we  are  children  of 
wrath,  children  of  disobedience,  living  without 
God.  This,"  he  added,  "  is  a  sad  state  to  live 
in,  and  a  still  more  sad  state  to  die  in." 

"What I"  she  replied,  in  a  tone  not  uu- 


196         THE   MISSION AKY  OF  KILMANY, 

mixed  witli  anger ;  "I  am  a  member  of  Mr. 
B.'s  churcli :  lie  does  not  tliink  me  so  bad 
as  you  do,  or  be  would  not  bave  admitted  me 
to  the  Lord's  Table.  I  bave  a  good  beart," 
sbe  went  on  to  say  witb  not  a  bttle  com- 
placency ;  "I  do  nobody  any  barm,  every 
one  of  my  neigbbors  will  tell  you  tbat ;  I'm  a 
very  quiet  woman,  and  my  busband  and  I  go 
to  cburcb  wben  we're  able.  Wbat  more  would 
YOU  bave  ?" 

"  Well,  tben,  I'll  tell  you, — witb  regard  to 
your  good  beart,  your  tbinking  so  is  just 
a  proof  tbat  you  don't  know  your  beart.  Do 
you  know  wbat  tbe  Word  of  God  says  about 
your  beart  ?" 

"  Ko,  I  don't  remember." 

"  I'll  tell  you.  It  says,  '  Tbe  beart  is  de- 
ceitful above  all  tbings,  and  desperately  wick- 
ed.' And  again,  'I,  tbe  Lord,  searcb  tbe 
beart,  I  try  tbe  reins,  even  to  give  every  man 
according  to  bis  doings,  and  according  to  tbe 
fruit  of  bis  ways.'  And  one  more,  '  Tbe  beart 
is  filled  witb  all  unrigbteousness,'  and  '  all  un- 


THE  PHARISEE.  197 

rigTiteousness  is  sin.'  Such  is  your  heart,  and 
such  is  mine.  Every  man's  and  every  woman's 
heart  is  brim-full  of  sin  ;  and  out  of  that  heart 
proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  and  every 
wickedness.  If  the  Lord  were  not  restraining 
us,  we  should  not  be  so  quiet  and  good  neigh- 
bors. And  besides,  we  may  be  quiet  and  good 
neighbors,  and  yet  be  shut  out  of  heaven. 
Will  you  think  upon  that,"  he  added,  as  he 
turned  about  to  go  away,  ''  till  I  come  back  and 
see  you  ?" 

"  Yes,  and  thank  you  for  what  you've  said 
to  me.     Don't  be  long  of  coming  back." 

He  visited  her  week  after  week,  finding  her 
always  willing  to  see  him,  but  not  much  con- 
cerned about  her  soul ;  indeed  apparently  much 
at  ease. 

"  You  are  now  greatly  better,"  he  said  to  her 
one  day ;  "  you  may  come  to  the  meeting." 
Having  asked  where  it  was,  she  promised 
to  attend. 

It  was  on  a  Sabbath  evening,  and  the  mis- 
sionary was  speaking  on  Isaiah  Iv.  1-8.     Both 

\1* 


198         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY.  ^ 

slie  and  her  husband  were  there.  A  short 
while  afterwards  he  called  at  the  house.  The 
moment  he  entered,  she  took  him  by  the  hand 
and  wept. 

"  What's  the  matter?"  he  inquired. 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  they  are  tears  of  joj.  I'm 
now  in  a  new  world,  since  that  night  John  and 
I  came  to  the  meeting.  'Twas  indeed  a  blessed 
night. 

"  Whenever  we  came  out,"  she  proceeded, 
"he  said  to  me,  'Did  you  tell  Mr.  Paterson 
about  us?'  'ISTo,'  I  said,  'I  did  not.'  'Are 
you  sure  ?'  he  again  asked  me,  '  for  he  knows 
all  about  how  I've  been  living.'  After  we  got 
home,  he  was  awfully  cast  down — the  tears 
-were  running  down  his  cheeks.  '  Oh  1  John,' 
I  said,  '  what's  wrong  ?'  He  cried  out,  '  I've 
never  felt  as  I  do  this  night;  you  heard 
how  we've  been  living — without  prayer ;  and 
we  were  told  that  those  who  live  without 
prayer,  are  living  without  God  and  without 
hope.  We  heard,  too,  what  an  awful  thing  it 
will  be  to  die  in  that  state,  and  that  we  may  be 


A  LIVING  EPISTLE.  199 

going  to  tlie  Churcli  and  to  the  Lord's  Table, 
and  jet  be  dead  in  sin.'  It's  a  new  world 
to  us  now  entirely.  John,"  sbe  added,  "says 
lie  would  like  so  much  if  you  would  come  up 
some  night  when  he  is  in,  and  see  him." 

He  accordingly  called  one  evening,  and 
found  John  at  his  Bible. 

"  I'm  glad  to  find  you  at  that  blessed  book," 
he  said. 

" Oh  yes,"  he  rephed,  "it  is  all  my  delight 
now." 

"  It  hasn't  been  so  always,  I  fear  ?" 

"  No,  I'm  sorry  to  say  ;  but  now  I  feel  it  to 
be  all  my  delight.  My  house  is  now  a  house 
of  prayer.  Oh  1  for  grace  from  the  God  of  all 
grace,  that  I  may  serve  Him  without  fear, 
in  righteousness  and  holiness  all  the  days  of 
my  life." 

For  more  than  two  years  he  continued  to 
live  in  the  district,  walking  steadfastly  in 
the  faith,  and  bringing  one  after  another  to  the 
meeting  where  he  himself  had  been  brought  to 
the  Lord. 


200       .  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

At  the  end  of  that  period  tliej  went  to  settle 
in  Australia.  "  I'm  truly  sorry  to  part  with, 
you,"  said  Mr.  Paterson,  when  they  were  about 
to  set  out.  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "  we  are  sorry 
to  the  heart, — more  so  than  to  part  even  with 
my  brothers  and  sisters  ;  but  oh,  what  a  bless- 
ing that  I  have  now  Christ  Jesus  in  my  heart 
by  His  Spirit  I  Oh  !  His  name  is  sweet  to  me. 
He  has  saved  me  and  my  dear  wife  from  our 
sins.  We'll  never  forget  you,  and  I'm  sure  we 
shall  have  an  interest  in  your  prayers." 

We  select  another  example  of  the  same 
class.  One  day  he  met,  in  a  lodging-house 
which  he  was  visiting,  an  old  man,  a  school- 
master, who  had  come  in  from  the  country  to 
consult  the  doctors  about  his  sight.  The  man 
was  in  great  anxiety,  being  afraid, he  should 
lose  the  use  of  his  eyes.  Mr.  Paterson  inquired 
kindly  about  his  trouble,  and  then  asked  how 
it  was  with  his  soul. 

With  all  the  stiff  formality  of  a  true  jDedant, 
and  apparently  wondering  that  such  a  question 
should  be  put  to   a  man  like   him,  he   said, 


THE  SCHOOLMASTER.  201 

"I  have  been  a  sober  man,  and  have  given 
myself  up  to  my  calling ;  no  man  can  say  any- 
thing against  me  ;  /have  nothing  to  fear." 

"All  that  maybe  true,"  said  the  missionary, 
"  but  do  you  remember  what  the  Lord  Jesus 
said  to  one  of  old,  'Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God?' 
That  is  a  great  change.  It  is  a  passing  from 
death  to  life,  from  darkness  to  light,  from  the 
power  of  Satan  to  the  power  of  God." 

He  then  prayed.  "  When  I  had  concluded," 
writes  Mr.  Paterson,  "  he  took  me  by  the  hand, 
and  pressed  it.  All  that  he  could  say  was,  '  I 
hope  you  will  come  back.'  " 

Two  days  afterwards  he  returned.  "  Oh, 
come  away,"  he  exclaimed,  as  they  told  him  it 
was  the  missionary,  "  I  have  been  longing  to 
see  you." 

"  "Well,  have  you  been  thinking  about  what 
I  said  to  you  ?" 

"  Oh !  yes,"  he  replied  in  a  tone  of  great 
anxiety ;  "  and  I  have  found  that  I  am  not  yet 
*  born  again.'     What  am  I  to  do  ?" 


202  THE   MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

"  Go  to  Jesus,  He  will  receive  vou  :  He  can 
work  tliis  great  work  in  you,  and  upon  you." 

"  You  will  be  glad  to  hear,"  says  Mr.  Pater- 
son,  writing  about  him  to  Mr.  Edie,  a  few  days 
after  this  interview,  "  that  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  has  made  its  appearance.  He  has  not 
only  been  made  to  feel  himself  a  sinner,  but  he 
has  been  enabled  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus. 
He  says,  '  I  came  here  a  dead  sinner,  but  now 
I  am  alive  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  I  came  in  darkness, 
but  now  I  am  light  in  the  Lord.'  He  is  quite 
willing  to  return  home  without  his  bodily 
sight,  if  it  is  the  Lord's  will  to  withhold  it.  He 
is  brought  to  lie  passive  in  God's  hand. 

"  Oh !  this  is  the  work  of  the  Lord,"  adds  the 
missionary,  "  not  mine.  It  is  humbling  to 
me  Avhen  I  think  that  He  makes  me — unwor- 
thy me — an  instrument  in  His  hand  to  lead  a 
soul  to  Him.  I  know  that  this  will  cause  joy 
of  heart  to  you,  to  hear  of  a  sinner  drawn  to 
Christ.     Oh !  it  is  Himself  that  has  done  it." 

We  have  spoken  of  his  tact  in  handling  the 
Word  of  God,  so  as  to  disarm  the  hostility  of 


"A  FATHER  TO  ME."  203 

the  most  profane.  He  Lad  otlier  metliods  of 
-winning  a  way  for  Ms  message  to  the  people's 
hearts. 

One  day  he  found  in  a  wretched  hovel, 
a  woman  dying  of  want.  She  was  lying  alone, 
no  one  caring  for  her.  He  got  some  fuel, 
kindled  a  fire  with  his  own  hands,  and  pre- 
pared some  warm  food  which  revived  her. 
He  then  set  about  providing  for  her  some  per- 
manent means  of  livelihood.  This  kindness 
secured  for  him  a  lasting  hold  upon  the  poor 
woman's  heart,  and  opened  a  door  for  his  min- 
istrations to  her  soul. 

This  was  no  solitary  instance.  So  thorough- 
ly did  he  enter  into  all  the  circumstances  of 
the  individuals  or  families  he  visited,  that  they 
looked  upon  him  as  a  father,  and  told  him  all 
that  concerned  them.  Even  after  they  had 
left  the  Canongate,  many  of  them  used  to  send 
for  him  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  the 
city, — such  was  their  confidence  in  his  warmth 
of  heart  and  in  his  shrewd,  sagacious  counsel. 
Often,  after  returning  late  at  night  from  a  day 


204         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

of  arduous  labor,  lie  found  that  several  liad 
called  or  sent  for  him.  However  fatigued,  lie 
at  once  set  out,  sometimes  even  during  the 
middle  of  the  night.  In  the  whole  course  of 
his  missionary  life,  he  never  was  known  to 
have  refused  one  such  call.  Kot  unfrequently, 
when  prostrated  under  severe  sickness,  he 
rose  from  his  bed  to  address  a  meeting  or  to 
visit  a  case  of  distress,  and  returned  again  to 
bed. 

The  effect  of  his  kindly  mode  of  address  was 
often  very  striking. 

There  had  come  into  the  district  a  Mr. 
T ,  a  man  strictly  moral,  but  much  preju- 
diced against  whatever  was  spiritual,  and 
especially  against  ministers  and  missionaries. 
Mr.  Paterson  visited  the  family,  and  met  with 
a  warm  reception  from  Mrs.  T.,  but  did  not  see 
her  husband  who  was  out  at  work.  After 
several  visits,  he  found  him  one  day  at  home 
sick.  He  had  heard  from  his  wife  how  highly 
the  family  prized  the  missionary's  visits,  and 
he  consented  to  see  him.    Mr.  Paterson  con- 


THE   KIND  EEPROOF.  205 

versed  witli  him,  and  then  prayed,  praying  as 
if  his  sickness  might  be  unto  death. 

"  That  is  a  man  I  very  much  like,"  said  he 
to  his  wife,  after  Mr.  Paterson  had  left  ;  "  he  is 
what  a  missionary  ought  to  be,"  alluding,  in 
contrast,  to  two  other  missionaries  who  once 
had  visited  in  the  house,  and  whose  forbidding 
manner  had  induced  him  to  resolve  he  never 
should  see  another. 

The  sickness  was  a  lingering  one.  Mr. 
Paterson's  visits  were  often  repeated,  and  were 
more  and  more  prized.  The  Lord  wrought  by 
him  in  the  soul  of  the  invalid,  so  that  he  grew 
rapidly  in  grace. 

An  incident  occurred  one  day,  illustrating 
both  what  grace  had  wrought  in  the  man,  and 
also  the  missionary's  gentle  yet  firm  manner  in 

correcting  what  was  amiss.     Mr.  T had 

naturally  a  very  quick,  impatient  temper ;  so 
much  so,  that  it  was  a  thing  marked  by  all  the 
neighbors,  as  well  as  by  those  with  whom  he 
associated  at  his  work ;  and  especially  people 
noticed  the  very  cutting  and  sharp  manner  in 

18 


206  THE   MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

wliicli  he  spoke  to  his  wife,  a  woman  singular- 
ly amiable  and  gentle.  He  happened  that  day 
to  require  something  from  her.  She  was  pro- 
curing it  for  him, — ^but  as  he  thought  too 
slowly.  His  impatience  broke  out  in  some 
very  hard  words,  and  in  still  harder  looks. 

**  Have  patience,  my  man,"  said  Mr.  Pater- 
son  who  was  sitting  beside  him ;  "  I'm  sure 
you  see  your  wife  is  doing  all  she  can  to  serve 
you." 

"  I  never  new  a  woman  like  you,"  were  the 
man's  words  to  his  wife,  after  Mr.  Paterson  had 
left.  "  I'm  sure,"  she  replied,  thinking  it  was 
some  new  complaint  against  her,  "I  do  all  I 
can  to  make  you  comfortable."  "  It  isn't  that 
I  mean,"  rejoined  the  husband ;  "  it's  a  strange 
thing  you  should  have  borne  so  long  with  my 
temper.  I  am  perfectly  ashamed  of  myself. 
Oh,  do  forgive  me  I" 

The  missionary's  kind  and  simple  admonition 
had  gone  to  his  heart.  His  temper  daily  be- 
came more  subdued,  till  at  length  it  was  en- 
tirely overcome. 


ANOTHER  SHEAF.  207 

And  whence  this  his  so  singular  power? 
"He  was  a  man  of  strong  faith,"  says  the  Eev. 
Mr.  Gregory,  in  whose  congregation  he  was  for 
some  years  an  elder.  "Such  was  his  confi- 
dence in  the  promise  and  grace  of  God,  that  he 
never  despaired  of  any.  This  animated  all  his 
labors  with  a  spirit  of  remarkable  hopefulness, 
and  surrounded  him  with  a  sunny  cheerfulness 
which  could  not  fail  to  shed  some  of  its  radi- 
ance on  the  objects  of  his  Christian  solicitude." 

Some  time  afterwards,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
family  above  alluded  to  was  awakened  to  a 
sense  of  his  lost  state  as  a  sinner.  His  parents 
saw  there  was  something  wrong ;  for  his  appe- 
tite left  him,  he  became  emaciated,  and  he 
slept  little.  One  night  his  mother  heard  him 
groaning,  and,  coming  into  the  room,  found 
him  much  agitated.  In  arranging  the  bed- 
clothes, she  noticed  a  bible.  For  the  first  time 
she  began  to  suspect  the  true  nature  of  her 
son's  complaint.  Next  morning  she  sent  for 
Mr.  Paterson.  He  visited  him  frequently ; 
and  the  young  man  took  every  opportunity  of 


208         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  EILMANY. 

calling  on  Mr.  Paterson.  At  length,  light 
arose  in  the  darkness.  He  became  a  zealous 
and  devoted  Christian,  holding  prajer-meet- 
ings,  distributing  tracts,  and  spending  and  be- 
ing spent  for  Christ. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

The  "  Try  sting-Tree"  Revisited— Christian  and  Hopeful— Communiugs— 
Deprivations — Dr.  Chalmers  A  New  Convert — The  Canongate — Mr. 
Edie — Bereavement — Letter  from  Dr.  Chalmers — "  Praise  now"— In- 
ward Darkness— Death  of  Dr.  Chalmers — The  Christian's  Hope— Kil- 
many. 

The  reader  will  remember  the  scene  beneath, 
the  " trysting-tree"  in  Kilmanj.  "A  few 
years  ago,"  says  the  biographer  of  Chalmers, 
"the  two  brothers,  at  Mr.  Edie's  suggestion, 
revisited  the  spot,  and  offered  up  their  joint- 
thanksgivings  to  that  God  who  had  kept  them 
by  His  grace,  and,  in  their  separate  spheres,  had 
honored  each  of  them  with  usefulness  in  the 
Church."  Like  "Christian"  and  "Hopeful," 
they  were  by-and-bye  to  enter  together  the 
"  celestial  city."  "We  cannot  better  indicate 
the  story  of  our  missionary's  few  remaining 
years,  than  by  joining  the  brothers  in  their 
way  and  listening  to  their  converse. 

18* 


210         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

"  It  was  our  Communion  last  Sabbath,"  be 
writes  to  Mr.  Edie,  on  Marcb  2,  1841,  "  and  I 
tbink  I  never  felt  my  soul  more  drawn  fortb  to 
Jesus,  and  away  from  myself  and  every  crea- 
ture. And  ob,  if  communion  on  eartb  be  so 
sweet,  wbat  must  it  be  in  Heaven,  wbere  tbere 
is  no  wandering  beart,  and  no  tempting  devil, 
and  no  ensnaring  world  I  And  tbis  sweet 
communion  was  not  at  tbe  table  only,  but 
tbrougbout  tbe  day.  Altbougb  tbe  enemy 
came  in  upon  me  bke  a  flood,  so  tbat  I  slept 
none  all  nigbt,  yet  Jesus  was  still  witb  me  of  a 
trutb.  K  ever  you  and  I  meet  on  eartb,  I  will 
bave  mucb  to  telLyou.  Tbis  bas  been  a  won- 
derful season,  for  at  least  four  montbs.  I  tbink 
I  never  bave  seen  so  mucb  of  tbe  Lord's  mar- 
vellous love  and  kindness." 

And  again: — "I  know  tbat  you  bave  bad 
many  sweet  feasts  witb  your  Beloved  in  tbis 
wilderness  ;  but  tbe  ricbest  and  tbe  best  wine 
is  reserved  till  tbe  last.  And  tbe  marriage 
supper  basteus.  Ob,  bow  bttle  bave  we  seen 
of  CbristI     Tbere  is  enougb  in  Him  to  fill 


DEPRIVATIONS.  211 

men  and  angels  with,  new  wonder  to  all  eterni- 
ty. Christ's  riches  are  absolutely  unsearch- 
able— a  mine  which  we  can  never  bottom.  We 
shall  see  more  and  more  of  His  glory  as  we 
pass  on  towards  perfection. 

"  And  oh,  the  wonderful  grace,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  which  is  to  be  brought  unto  us  at  our 
Lord's  next  appearing !  The  views  of  His 
glory  which  we  have  had  here,  though  true 
and  real,  yet  are  so  small,  that  it  will  be  as  if 
we  had  never  seen  Him,  and  as  if  He  was  but 
then  revealed  to  us.  We  shall  be  so  ravished 
with  His  glory,  that  we  shall  never  be  able  to 
lose  sight  of  His  bright  face  forever.  Oh  I 
there  is  nothing  worth  living  for  here,  if  we 
live  not  for  Christ  and  to  Christ." 

In  another  letter  he  writes : — "  Although 
absent  in  body  from  you,  I  am  often  with  you 
in  spirit.  Distance  cannot  prevent  this.  I  can 
enter  into  your  own  dwelling,  and  sit  side  by 
side  with  you ;  and  I  can,  though  far  distant, 
bear  you  with  delight  on  my  heart  at  a  throne 
of  gTace,  but  lookiug  forward  to  that  time 


212  THE   MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

when  distance  shall  be  unknown — wlien  we, 
with  the  whole  family  of  the  redeemed,  shall  be 
gathered  to  our  Father's  house,  and  the  Lamb 
Himself  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  the  whole 
family,  and  every  eye  shall  be  upon  Him, 
every  heart  love,  and  every  tongue  praise.  Oh, 
the  comfort  that  every  heart  will  be  one  and 
the  song  will  be  one !  This  is  wanting  here 
below  among  those  who  profess  to  be  the 
Lord's,  What  a  promise  is  that — '  I  will  give 
you  one  heart  and  one  way !'  The  closer  the 
saints  follow  Christ,  the  sweeter  their  fellow- 
ship is  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  the 
sweeter  their  fellowship  one  with  another." 

And  again : — "  I  called  on  Dr.  Chalmers  and 
told  him  of  your  father's  death.  He  seemed  to 
feel  much.  He  asked  what  state  of  mind 
he  was  in.  I  told  him  of  the  last  meeting 
I  had  with  him  at  Kilmany ;  when  he  heard 
what  I  said,  the  tears  ran  down  his  face,  and  he 
said  that  nothing  could  have  given  him  more 
comfort." 

In  the  same  letter,  he  adverts  to  his  labors : 


A  NEW  CONVERT.  213 

— "  The  Lord  is  still  giving  me  much  counte- 
nance, and  much  testimony  to  the  word  of  His 
own  grace,  both  in  my  private  visits  and  also 
in  my  meetings.  He  has  inclined  many  to 
come  and  hear  the  simple  Word.  Many  have 
been  brought  to  feel  its  power,  so  that  they 
have  given  themselves  to  the  Lord.  Some 
who,  just  after  I  came  here,  were  brought 
to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  who  for  ten  years  have 
continued  close  to  Christ,  have  this  winter  died 
in  a  most  heavenly  frame  of  mind,  rejoicing  in 
Christ." 

He  then  notes  a  case,  not  in  his  district : — 

"  A  lady  in  G Square  sent  for  me  lately. 

I  found  her  in  great  distress.  She  was  looking 
in  to  herself  for  love  to  Jesus,  and  she  found 
none.  I  told  her  that  that  was  not  where  she 
should  look,  and  that,  as  long  as  she  looked  in 
to  herself,  she  never  would  get  lasting  comfort. 
I  told  her  she  must  look  to  Christ.  Well,  I  am 
glad  to  say  that  the  Lord  has  led  her  to  Christ ; 
and  life,  and  light,  and  peace  are  felt  and  even 
seen  to  be  in  her." 


214         THE   MISSIONARY  OF   KILMANY. 

A  month  later,  lie  again  writes: — ''The 
surest  experience,  my  dear  brother,  of  the 
world's  emptiness  arises  from  a  taste  of 
Christ's  fulness.  Though  there  be  nothing  but 
disappointments  in  the  world  to  them  that 
make  it  their  idol,  yet  it  will  be  slavishly  pur- 
sued and  craved  after  by  them,  because  they 
know  no  better  things.  The  infatuated  idola- 
ter hath  not  the  sense  to  say  within  himself, 
'Is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand?'  Oh, 
my  dear  brother,  what  is  this  world  without 
Christ — what  would  Heaven  be  without 
Christ  ?  It  would  be  no  Heaven  at  all.  And 
what  would  our  souls  be  without  Christ? — > 
nothing  but  hell.  If  Christ  is  in  us  of  a 
truth,  then  heaven  is  within  us.  The  Lord 
put  and  keep  your  heart  and  mine  in  a  praising 
frame  I  How  well  does  this  spirit  become 
those  who  of  sinners  are  made  saints — of  ene- 
mies, children — of  slaves,  heirs !  Come,  my 
dear  brother,  and  let  us  provoke  one  another 
to  love.  I  was  greatly  refreshed  with  your  last 
visit.     I  bless  God  for  the  spiritual  benefit  and 


EOBEKT  EDIE.  215 

comfort  of  your  acquaintance  for  these  many 
years.  Let  us  be  diligent,  that  we  may  be 
found  of  Him  in  peace,  witbout  spot  before 
Him  in  love ;  and  then  we  sball  meet  at  one 
table,  never  more  to  part." 

Mr.  Edie  writes  to  bis  friend  tbus  : — "  Every 
day  I  experience  much  of  tbe  goodness  of  God 
my  Saviour — His  faithfulness  and  my  own 
unfaithfulness ;  and  the  longer  I  live,  I  desire  to 
feel  more  deeply  convinced  of  the  utter  worth- 
lessness  and  vanity  of  mere  worldly  pursuits, 
in  comparison  of  the  grand  and  momentous 
interests  of  Eternity.  I  long  to  see  ypu — 
delay  not  to  come  over." 

And  his  friend  replies  : — ''  When  we  meet 
with  crosses  and  wrongs,  unfaithfulness  and 
contempt,  and  hatred,  and  persecution  from 
men,  need  we  wonder  ?  We  were  never  told 
by  God  it  would  be  otherwise  here.  Did  we 
look  for  less  from  creatures  and  expect  more 
from  God — did  we  reckon  this  world  to  be  a 
state  of  trial  and  not  a  state  of  rest  and  satis- 
faction, our  faith  and  desires  would  be  stronger 


216         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

with  respect  to  God  and  Heaven.  .  .  .  With 
respect  to  my  work,  some  can  date  the  night 
"when  the  word  came  home  with  power  to  their 
souls.  There  are  two  women  who  have  the 
first  Monday  of  August  marked  down.  The 
words  I  spoke  upon  that  night  were,  *Unto 
you  is  the  word  of  this  salvation  sent.'  They 
were  both  inclined  to  receive  salvation.  One 
of  these  women  is  dying,  but  in  peace  with 
(xod  through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  She  was 
in  good  health  at  the  time  she  heard  the  Word ; 
she  says  that  night  will  be  matter  of  praise  to 
her  through  time  and  eternity." 

Having  entered  on  a  new  farm  near  the 
Bridge  of  Earn,  Mr.  Edie  writes : — "  I  have 
abundant  reason  for  thanksgiving  to  my  God, 
who  has  in  a  very  remarkable  manner 
strengthened  me  both  in  body  and  in  mind  for 
the  harassing  and  hard-driving  employments  of 
the  last  two  months.  I  have  five  men  and  ten 
horses  constantly  at  work.  Amid  all  this  out- 
ward bustle,  I  never  experienced  a  calmer  or 
sweeter  reliance  on  the  Divine  Providence  and 


BEREAVEMENT.  217; 

guidance.  However,  I  have  mucli  need  of 
your  prayers,  tliat,  while  my  hands  are  busily 
engaged  with  the  farm  and  the  merchandise,. 
my  heart  be  not  dragged  after  them  too. .  Do 
let  me  hear  from  you  immediately.  Let  Lady 
Grace  know  that  God  has  been  pleased  to> 
choose  an  inheritance  for  us." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear,"  his  friend  writes  in  re- 
ply,   "  that  you  have  sweet  communion  with 
your  God  and  Saviour,  notwithstanding  these? 
worldly  concerns,  which  must  be  attended  to- 
and  which   must   engross  your  mind  much. 
We  have  great  need  to  be  much  at  our  Father's 
throne,  asking  His  blessed  Spirit  to  enable  us- 
to  act  for  His  glory  in  all  that  we  do.     The 
closer  we  walk  with  our  God  and  the  Lamb- 
here,  the  more  peace  and  gladness  we  shall  en- 
joy.    It  is  just  a  foretaste  of  Heaven  to  be  in 
communion  with  our  God ;  and  there  can  be  no 
communion  with  God  away  from  our  dear 
Saviour." 

A  new  bereavement  fell  upon  Mr.  Edie,  and 
his  friend  again  writes :— "  My  heart  melts  for 

19 


218         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

-you  and  dear  Mrs.  Edie.  I  can  enter  into  your 
deep  sorrow  at  this  stroke.  The  Lord  has 
touched  you  in  your  tender  part.  He  has 
taken  away  one  of  your  dear  little  ones  ;  but  I 
trust  that  He  has  taken  him  home  to  Himself. 
Oh,  my  dear  friend,  is  there  not  a  voice  in 
God's  providence  as  well  as  in  His  word  ? 
And  is  not  this  the  language  of  your  affliction, 
*  Trust  not  in  riches,  trust  not  in  friends,  trust 
not  in  anything  beneath  the  Eternal  God ;  for 
if  you  or  I  do,  they  will  prove  a  broken  reed, 
and  will  fail  us  when  we  have  the  most  need.' 
Has  God  cut  off  the  little  stream  ?  Oh,  then, 
flee  to  the  Fountain." 

Another  heart  poured  out  its  tender  sympa- 
tthy.     Dr.  iChalmers  writes : — 

"  'Burntisland^  Septemher  80,  1841. 

"  My  Dear  Sir, — ^I  grieve  to  hear  of  your 
■family  disasters ;  while  I  take  it  very  kind  thus 
to  domesticate  me  by  communicating  to  me 
your  sorrows  and  trials. 

"  It  is  my  earnest  prayer  that  He  who,  for 


LETTER  FROM  DR.   CHALMERS.  21? 

His  own  wise  and  holy  purpose,  lias  tlius  seen 
meet  to  exercise  you,  may  sanctify  and  bless 
His  own  visitations.  I  liave  often  thonght  of 
John,  XV.  2,  as  a  verse  eminently  applicable  to 
those  who  are  afflicted  as  yon  at  present  are. 
Our  Heavenly  Father,  the  great  Spiritual 
Husbandman,  purgeth  (pruneth)  the  branches 
which  He  means  to  spare  and  make  fruitful. 
This  He  often  does  by  dissevering  from  us  the 
obj.ects  of  our  affections  here  below,  and  for 
the  very  purpose  that  the  current  of  our  affec- 
tions should  take  a  more  healthful  and  heaven- 
ward direction  towards  Himself 

"  May  this  be  the  blessed  effect  on  you  and 
yours  of  the  melancholy  bereavement  under 
which  you  now  suffer.  May  it  withdraw  your 
affections  from  a  world  the  nearest  and  dearest 
objects  of  which  may  be  so  speedily  with- 
drawn from  us,  and  carry  forward  our  affec- 
tions to  that  enduring  world  where  sin  and 
death  are  alike  unknown. 

"Give  my  best  sympathies  and  regards  to 
Mrs.  Edie  ;  and  with  earnest  supplication  that 


220         THE  MISSIONARY   OF  KILMANY. 

God  may  spare  you  any  further  trial,  or  make 
good  His  own  promise  that  He  will  not  suffer 
you  to  be  tried  beyond  what  you  are  able  to 
bear, — I  ever  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours  very 
truly,  "Thomas  Chalmers. 

"Mr.  KobertEdie." 

"It  is  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord,  your  Fa- 
ther," writes  Mr.  Paterson,  pouring  new  balm 
into  the  wounded  spirit,  "to  lay  upon  your 
family  His  chastening  hand;  but  since  this 
very  chastening  flows  from  the  boundless  love 
of  His  heart,  and  was  determined  by  His 
infinite  wisdom  for  His  own  glory  and  your 
good,  receive  it  with  thankfulness,  I  am  sure 
you  will  bless  Grod  for  it  even  here,  but  more 
so  when  you  come  to  Heaven  and  see  how 
needful  it  was  for  you  to  pass  this  way — 
through  this  affliction — ^to  glory.  Therefore 
begin  the  work  of  praise  nowP 

His  watchful  eye  lost  sight  of  none  of  his 
fellow-pilgrims.  Jealous  over  them  with  a 
godly  jealousy,  he  was  ever  seeking  to  stimu- 


<'  PKAISE  NOW."  221 

late  them  on  their  way.  ''  Let  me,  in  the 
bowels  of  Jesus  Christ,  beseech  you,"  we  find 
him  writing  to  a  friend,  "by  all  the  love  and 
grace  which  have  been  displayed  in  your  sal- 
vation, that  you  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
wherewith  you  are  called.  Oh,  my  dear  bro- 
ther, what  did  free  grace  and  boundless  mercy 
do  for  us,  in  that  day  when  the  Lord  passed  by 
us,  and  saw  us  in  our  blood,  dead  in  sins,  and 
said  unto  us,  '  Live  !'  Surely  that  time  was  a 
time  of  love  !  What  sins  did  free  grace  for- 
give !  what  provocations  did  it  pass  by !  and 
how  thoroughly  did  it  wash,  purify,  and  beau- 
tify our  souls !  We  have  given  ourselves  to 
the  Lord  to  be  His,  and  have  opened  our 
mouth  to  the  Lord ;  therefore  we  cannot  go 
back. 

"  Yet  there  is  in  me  an  heart  of  unbelief,'" 
he  continues,  "and  this  would  lead  me  to  go 
back.  Oh,  what  a  soul-destroying  thing  sin 
is !  Every  sin  is  a  step  taken  back  towards 
that  nature's  darkness  and  bondage  from  which 
free  grace,   boundless  mercy,   and   almighty 

19* 


222         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

power  set  us  free  ;  'tis  making  a  captain  to  re- 
turn into  Egypt,  loathing  the  heavenly  manna, 
and  longing  after  the  flesh-pots,  the  onions, 
and  garlic — the  abominable  fare  we  once  fed 
on  while  in  the  kingdom  of  Satan.  Oh,  how 
it  brings  death  upon  our  comforts,  fruitfulness, 
and  usefulness  in  the  world !  By  sin  we  lose 
our  opportunities  of  glorifying  God  upon  the 
earth,  and  so,  that  praise,  honor,  and  glory 
which  we  should  otherwise  receive  in  the  day 
of  Christ.  My  dear  brother,  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  sin  brings  us  into  darkness,  and 
not  into  light.  But  I  trust,  though  I  thus 
speak,  that  you  have  had  and  have  many 
sweet  feasts  with  your  Beloved." 

To  another  fellow  pilgrim,  ''  in  great  dark- 
ness of  soul,"  he  writes  thus : — "  Is  it  sin  that 
occasions  darkness?  What  sin  is  it?  Out- 
ward sin  of  any  kind  ?  Is  it  on  this  account 
He  is  departed  from  you,  and  that  joy  and 
peace  are  departed  with  Him  ?  How  can  you 
expect  Him  to  return  till  you  have  put  away 
the  accursed  thing  ? 


INWARD  DARKNESS.  223 

"  But  perhaps,"  he  proceeds,  "  you  are  not 
conscious  of  even  one  outward  sin.  Is  there 
no  inward  sin  springing  up  in  your  heart,  as  a 
root  of  bitterness,  to  trouble  you?  Has  not 
the  foot  of  pride  come  against  you?  Have 
you  not  gloried  in  anything  save  in  the  cross 
of  Christ?  Have  you  not  sought  after  or 
desired  the  praise  of  men  ?  Oh,  how  apt  are 
we  to  do  so  !  And  what  dryness  and  barren- 
ness of  soul  is  the  result !  K  you  have  at  any 
time  fallen  by  pride,  humble  yourself  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God.  Be  not  deceived ; 
God  is  not  mocked.  He  will  not  dwell  in  a 
divided  heart.  So  long  as  you  cherish  Delliah 
in  your  bosom,  it  is  vain  to  hope  for  a  recovery 
of  light  and  peace.  Pluck  out  the  right  eye — 
sin,  and  cast  it  from  you.  Stir  yourself  up  be- 
fore the  Lord.  Arise  and  shake  yourself  from 
the  dust.  "Watch,  wake  out  of  sleep,  and  keep 
awake ;  otherwise  there  is  nothing  to  be  ex- 
pected but  that  you  will  be  alienated  more 
from  the  light  and  life  of  God." 

"  I  never,"  writes  Mr.  Edie,  on  14th  August, 


224         THE  MISSIOISTARY  OF  KILMANY. 

1844,  "had  a  greater  longing  to  see  you  and 
to  converse  with  you  about  our  gracious 
Saviour  and  the  great  salvation.  And  I  hope 
you  will  be  able  to  suggest  some  plan  by 
which  that  may  be  brought  about,  if  not  be- 
fore harvest,  at  least  as  soon  thereafter  as  may 
be.  In  the  meantime,  let  us  remember  one 
another  daily  at  a  throne  of  grace.  I  plainly 
see  that  the  urgency  of  this  world's  business 
has  a  constant  tendency  to  displace  Christ  my 
Lord  and  my  God  from  this  vain  and  deceitful 
heart ;  yet  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed, 
and  am  persuaded  that  He  will  keep  that 
which  I  have  committed  to  Him  against  that 
day.  He  hath  said,  '  I  will  never  leave  you  nor 
forsake  you.'  And,  indeed,  I  feel  that  in  all 
this  wide  and  heaving  deluge  of  human  affairs, 
my  poor  wandering  soul  can  find  no  rest  for 
the  sole  of  her  foot,  till  she  return  to  the  ark  of 
the  covenant. 

"  I  feel,"  he  adds,  "  that  I  stand  greatly  in 
need  of  your  prayers,  especially  as  an  elder 
with   an   appointed   district    to    superintend. 


CASTING  SEED.  226 

May  the  Lord  help  me  and  give  me  grace  to 
be  faithful  and  useful  in  this  small  corner  of 
His  vineyard.  Yesterday  evening  I  got  over 
nearly  all  the  families  for  the  first  time,  and 
certainly  met  with  a  very, encouraging  recep- 
tion. Oh  !  that  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  to 
make  this  newly -awakened  interest  in  Divine 
things,  [he  refers  to  the  Free  Church,]  issue  in 
the  conversion  of  multitudes  throughout  the 
land !" 

A  year  later,  we  have  a  glimpse  into  the 
missionary's  field.  "  I  have,  like  yourself, 
been  very  busy,"  he  writes  to  Mr.  Edie,  on 
26th  September,  1845,  "  not  reaping,  but  cast- 
ing the  seed  of  the  Word  forth  among  poor 
sinners.  Oh,  that  the  Lord  Himself  would 
make  it  take  root  and  bring  forth  a  harvest ! 
I  think  there  is  some  fruit.  There  are  many 
poor  sinners  coming  out  to  hear  the  Word 
at  my  meetings,  more  than  there  have  been  for 
many  months.  Indeed,  when  I  was  in  Fife, 
although  I  had  got  some  students  to  take  my 
meetings,  the  Sabbath  meeting,  when  I  cama 


226         THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY. 

back,  was  so  fallen  off  that  tlie  door  was  shut. 
I  think,  when  I  left  it,  there  were  about  eighty. 
And  now  it  is  so  full  that  there  is  no  room  to 
hold  them.  There  have  been  about  three 
hundred  souls  at  my  meetings  this  week,  and  I 
have  visited  eighty  families  in  their  own 
houses.  I  find  myself  much  worn  out ;  but  I 
have  great  comfort  in  my  work,  and  many  of 
them  are  under  concern  of  soul." 

''Lady  Grace  Douglas's  man-servant,"  we 
find  him  saying  in  another  letter,  "  has  been 
confined  to  his  bed  for  eighteen  months.  I 
visit  him  at  Morningside  three  times  a  week. 
The  Lord  has  blessed  my  poor  labors,  so 
that  his  eyes  are  opened  to  see  himself  a 
lost  sinner.  Now  he  cannot  hear  too  much  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  change  is  so  great 
that  it  is  visible  to  all.  He  delights  much  in 
Christ." 

It  was  not  to  exalt  himself  that  he  thus  nar- 
rated his  success.  He  had  been  too  long  in 
the  Lord's  furnace  to  be  a  self-glorifying  man. 
"  He  is  one,"  we  find  him  sa3ring  to  a  friend, 


SPIRITUAL  JOYS.  22? 

about  Mr.  Edie,  "wlio  lives  near  the  Lord. 
Oh  !  I  am  far  beliind.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the 
Lord  has  spared  me  so  long  for  so  little  pur- 
pose." And  to  another  : — "  It  really  gladdens 
my  heart  at  the  thought  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  putting  it  into  the  hearts  of  His  child- 
ren to  think  upon  one  another,  and  upon  me 
who  am  not  worthy  to  be  thought  upon, 
either  by  my  Father,  or  by  any  of  the  children 
of  the  family."  And  again : — "  I  have  great 
comfort  in  visiting  her  ladyship.*  We  always 
get  up  spiritual  matters ;  and  she  is  so  very 
humble ;  and  what  a  proof  of  it  that  she  should 
deign  to  converse  with  a  poor  thing  like 
me!" 

A  friend  had  applied  to  him  under  deep 
spiritual  trouble.     "  There  will  be  doubts  and 


*  In  1846,  Lady  Grace  Douglas,  the  originator  and  munifi- 
cent maintainer  of  the  Canongate  mission,  died — "  She  was 
sensible  to  the  very  last,"  ■wrote  the  missionary,  on  retiring 
from  her  death  bed.  "She  was  in  a  very  happy  frame  ol 
mind.  She  was  a  saint  indeed :  she  is  now  in  glory,  I  have 
lost  a  kind  friend."  Her  son,  Mr.  Douglas  of  Cavers,  con- 
tinued the  mission  ;  and  the  Lord  continued  to  bless  it. 


228         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANT. 

fears,"  be  writes,  in  reply,  on  lOtli  Marcli, 
1846,  "  but  we  must  not  cberisb  tbem, — we 
must  not  question  God's  abibty  to  save,  nor 
must  we  question  His  wilbngness  to  save,  for 
He  batb  sent  His  own  dear  Son  into  tbe  world 
to  save  us.  "We  cannot  be  so  willing  to  con- 
fess sin  as  He  is  to  pardon  it;  we  cannot 
desire  to  be  saved  so  mucb  as  He  delights  to 
save.  He  may  bide  bimself  from  you ;  yet  lift 
up  your  beart  to  Him  and  wait  for  Him; 
in  His  own  time  He  will  make  Himself  known 
unto  you.  Once  .you  have  got  Cbrist  in  tbe 
arms  of  your  faitb,  you  will  bave  to  say,  *  I 
have  found  tbe  sweetest  of  all  blessings.'  " 

And  to  anotber  be  writes  on  14tb  Septem- 
ber, 1846  : — "  Wbat  need  bave  we  to  be  living 
for  Jesus !  But  tbere  will  be  no  living  for 
Him  till  we  are  in  Him  and  He  in  us.  Ay,  we 
must  be  planted  in  Him  before  we  grow  up  to 
Him  wbo  is  tbe  bead.  Ob,  my  dear  brotber, 
bave  you  discovered  wbat  is  Cbrist's  matcbless 
excellency,  so  as  to  draw  off  your  beart  from 
sin  and  tbe  perisbing  tbings  of  tbis  world? 


DEATH  OF  DR.   CHALMERS.  229 

Have  you  felt  the  cords  of  His  love  about  your 
heart  and  will,  constraining  you  to  yield  your- 
self wholly  to  Him  ?  Is  your  heart  drawn  out 
in  love  and  affection  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
above  all  things,  so  that  the  desire  of  your  soul 
is  to  Him  and  to  the  remembrance  of  His 
name  ?  Do  you  think  you  are  growing  liker 
to  Him,  more  holy,  more  humble,  more  meek, 
more  heavenly-minded  ?  Are  you  troubled  at 
the  thought  of  being  at  a  distance  from  Christ, 
when  at  any  time  you  are  drawn  off  Him  by 
sin  and  Satan  and  the  world's  allurements? 
My  dear  brother,  I  confess  that  I  am  wanting 
in  these  things.  Oh  !  that  I  may  be  drawn  off 
from  resting  on  duties,  or  from  putting  any  at- 
tainments in  Christ's  room !" 

"  Our  friend.  Dr.  Chalmers,  is  wonderfully 
well,"  wrote  Mr.  Paterson  to  Mr.  Edie,  on  3d 
April,  1847,  *'  and  closes  his  labors  on  Wed- 
nesday, for  the  winter.  The  Lord  has  enabled 
him  to  go  through  with  great  life,  the  young 
men  say."  Two  months  afterwards  Dr.  Chal- 
mers was  suddenly  summoned  to  his  heavenly 

20 


230         THE  MISSIONARY  OP  KILMANY. 

home.  "What  a  solemn  and  affecting  event," 
Mr.  Edie  writes  to  his  friend,  on  3d  June, 
"  has  happened  within  these  few  days  I  Our 
sentiments  respecting  our  dear  and  valuable 
friend  have  all  along  been  the  same  ;  and  our 
feelings,  now  that  his  Master  and  ours  has  seen 
meet  to  call  him  away  from  the  scene  of  his  la- 
bors to  the  everlasting  rest  of  the  saints,  will, 
I  have  no  doubt,  be  very  similar.  I  am 
sure  you  have  been  earnestly  praying  that  this 
dispensation  of  the  Lord  may  be  blessed  to  the 
afflicted  family  of  our  venerable  departed 
father,  to  ourselves,  and  to  the  Church  of 
Christ,  of  which,  by  His  gTace,  he  was  so  great 
an  ornament.  Well  might  the  Witness  say,  '  It 
is  the  foremost  champion  of  Christianity  who 
has  fallen — ^it  is  the  mind  that  acted  with  the 
greatest  power  on  society  that  has  passed  so 
unexpectedly  from  amongst  us.'  " 

The  time  was  now  approaching  when  the  two 
brothers,  who  had  entered  together  the  narrow 
way,  were  together,  like  their  spiritual  father, 
to  "finish  their  course."    From  the  last  re- 


PARTAKERS    OF  GRACE.  231 

maining  letters,  interclianged  betwixt  them,  we 
cull  a  few  sentences." 

"  Your  very  welcome  letter,"  wrote  Mr. 
Paterson,  to  his  friend,  on  8tli  March,  1850, 
"  found  me  in  my  bed — ^it  cheered  and  com- 
forted my  soul.  I  find  my  work  hard  for  me 
now ;  but,  thanks  be  to  my  God,  I  feel  my  heart 
as  much  in  it  as  ever.  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Lord  is  blessing  His  own  sweet  Word 
to  many.  My  meetings  were  never  better  at- 
tended since  I  came  to  the  Canongate — the 
Sabbath  meetings  crowded  to  the  door — ^the 
Wednesday  meetings  well  attended,  I  think 
about  seventy.  A  great  many  men  come ;  it  is 
no  easy  matter  to  get  them  out.  It  is  the  Lord 
that  inclines  them  to  come ;  and  He  has  met 
with  some  of  them  and  blessed  His  Word  to 
them. 

"  I  was  truly  refreshed  to  hear,"  he  adds, 
''that  you  have  felt  so  much  nearness  to  God 
your  Father,  through  Jesus  your  dear  Saviour. 
Oh,  what  grace  can  do  1 — make  us  partakers  of 
His   own    image    and    likeness  I      Oh,    how 


232         THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

humbling  to  us  that  He  should  have  taken  such 
wretched  creatures  into  so  near  a  relation  to 
Himself!" 

And  writes  Mr.  Edie,  on  9th  January, 
1851 : — "I  trust  you  have  experienced,  in  this 
recent  affliction,  as  you  have  often  done  here- 
tofore, the  blessedness  of  a  heart  stayed  upon 
God.  What  an  unspeakable  privilege  is  it — 
what  a  consolation — that  we  can,  in  all  cir- 
cumstances of  affliction,  whether  of  body,  mind, 
or  estate,  resort  to  Him  who  hath  said,  '  I  will 
be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons 
and  daughters  I'  Oh,  may  all  these  corrections, 
though  not  pleasing  to  flesh  and  blood,  not 
joyous  but  grievous,  yet,  in  our  case,  yield  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness,  when  we  are 
exercised  thereby  !  What  a  fleeting,  transitory 
scene  is  this  I  How  needful  to  be  watching, 
praying,  working!  Our  times  are  in  His 
hand,  who  careth  for  us,  and  with  whom  we 
desire  and  hope  to  spend  our  eternity.  How 
sweet  and  refreshing  are  these  words,  *  He  that 
liveth  and  beheveth  in  me  shall  never  diel' 


LAST  WORDS  TO  ROBERT  EDIE.  233 

Oh,  that  our  respective  families  may,  every  in 
dividual  of  them,  be  His !" 

"  Let  us  stir  up  one  another,"  are  Mr.  Pater- 
son's  last  words  to  his  friend,  (4th  August, 
1851,)  "  to  think  more  upon  our  dear  Saviour, 
woo  thought  upon  us  when  we  had  no 
thoughts  about  Him,  and  loved  us  when  we 
had  no  love  to  Him.  Oh,  my  brother,  what  a 
goodly  heritage  have  they  who  have  Christ  for 
their  portion !  I  am  sure  you  can  say,  '  the 
Lord  is  my  portion.'  And  what  a  glorious 
master  Jesus  is,  who  makes  all-  His  servants 
kings — who  has  a  throne  and  a  crown  for 
every  one  of  them — who  pardons  all  their  sins, 
and  accepts  all  their  weak  services!  Little 
does  the  world  think  what  an  honor  and  hap- 
piness it  is  to  serve  Christ  here,  or  what  glory 
He  has  in  reserve  for  them  hereafter,  I  am 
sure  I  can  say  He  has  been  a  kind,  loving 
Master  to  me ;  and  I  have  reason  to  be 
ashamed  of  myself  that  I  have  not  served  Him 
better.  He  goes  with  me  and  stands  by  me, 
saying,   '  Fear  not,  for  I  am  thy  God ;  I  will 

20* 


234         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMAISTY. 

strengthen  thee,  yea,  I  will  lielp  thee,  yea,  I 
will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my 
righteousness.  I  will  go  before  thee  and  make 
the  crooked  places  straight ;  I  will  break  in 
pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in  sunder  the 
bars  of  iron.'  0  yes,  many  a  shut  heart  He 
has  opened,  and  caused  his  own  word  to  enter 
into  the  hearts  of  His  enemies,  and  made  them 
a  willing  people  in  the  day  of  His  power. 
Yes,  had  not  the  Lord  done  this,  it  never 
would  have  been  done  by  me  ;  ay,  and  had  He 
not  gone  before  me  and  stood  by  me,  I  never 
could  have  gone  to  the  places  I  have  gone  to. 
"Not  unto  me,  but  unto  our  God  be  all  the 
glory. 

"  Now,  my  dear  brother,"  he  adds,  "  how 
are  you  and  your  family  ?  I  hope  you  and 
they  are  all  well.  I  was  in  Fife  for  three 
weeks  in  June.  I  was  in  Kilmany  again  and 
again." 

"  It  almogt  looked,"  says  Dr.  Hanna,  in 
describing  Dr.  Chalmers'  farewell  visit  to  his 
native  village,  "  as  if  that  peculiarity  of  old 


REVISITS   KILMAJ^Y.  235 

age  whicli  sends  it  back  to  the  days  of  child- 
hood for  its  last  earthly  reminiscences,  had  for 
a  time  and  prematurely  taken  hold  of  him." 
Alexander  Paterson  revisited  Kilmany  with  a 
yearning  even  more  tender.  It  was  in  every 
sense  his  native  village.  And  as  his  labors 
were  now  hastening  to  a  close,  it  was  fitting 
that  the  scene  which  had  witnessed  his  birth 
as  "  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus,"  should  be 
enshrined  in  his  holiest  memories,  and  should 
witness  his  latest  thanksgivings. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

The  Cholera  Patient— The  Missionary  on  the  Straw — Seized  with  Chol- 
era—Heavenly Aspirations— The  Rod— Robert  Edie— Girded  Loins— 
The  Lighted  Lamp— The  Prayer-Meeting— The  "  Translation"— Alex- 
ander Palersou  "  Behind"- Faint  yet  Pursuing— Last  Visit—"  This  ia 
Death"—"  All  Settled"— Death-bed  Utterings— Departed— The  Ramah 
Lament — The  Epitaph, 

One  niglit,  about  nine  o'clock,  two  young 
men  called  at  Mr.  Paterson's  house,  asking  Mm 
to  go  and  see  a  man  in  St.  John  Street,  who  was 
in  great  distress.  Our  missionary  had  been  out 
seven  hours  that  day  visiting  in  the  wynds, 
and  had  just  come  home  very  much  worn  out 
with  his  labors. 

"  I'm  very  tired,"  he  said,  *'  and  not  very 
able  to  go.     Is  the  case  urgent  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  he  is  very  anxious  about  his  soul — 
it's  cholera^  and  he  is  very  ill." 

"  Well,  I'll  go." 


THE  CHOLERA  PATIENT.  237 

"  But  are  you  not  afraid  ?" 

*'  Oh  no ;  as  lie  is  anxious  about  his  soul,  I'll 
go  with  you  instantly." 

They  soon  were  at  the  house.  As  they 
entered,  a  dismal  spectacle  presented  itself. 
There  was  no  fire  in  the  room — all  was  in  con- 
fusion ;  the  man's  wife  and  daughter,  the  latter 
a  woman  about  twenty -five  years  of  age,  lay  in 
one  corner  in  a  state  of  intoxication — ^in 
another  corner  lay  a  man  and  his  wife  in  a 
similar  condition — in  a  third  corner,  stretched 
upon  a  pallet  of  damp  straw^  was  the  cholera 
patient,  already  in  a  far  advanced  stage  of  the 
disease.  Two  doctors  were  there,  but  they  im- 
mediately left. 

"You're  very  ill?"  said  the  missionary, 
going  at  once  to  the  dying  man. 

"  Oh  yes,"  he  replied,  stretching  out  to  him 
his  hand,  which  was  already  as  cold  as  death, 
"  I'm  very  ill." 

"  Do  you  think  you're  dying  ?" 

"Yes,  yes." 

"  "What  is  your  hope  ?" 


238         THE   MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

"Oil,  sir,  I  have  no  hope.  I'm  going  to 
hell, — I  have  been  an  awful  sinner — I  have 
lived  without  God  and  without  Christ,  and 
I've  no  hope.  I've  neglected  the  holy  Sab- 
bath, and  the  house  of  God,  and  the  Bible. 
Oh,  I'm  a  great  sinner !"  Then  looking  up  to 
the  missionary,  and  grasping  his  hand  more 
firmly,  he  added — "  Oh,  sir,  do  you  think  there 
is  mercy  for  such  a  sinner  as  me  ?" 

Mr.  Paterson  spoke  of  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
but  the  man's  agony  only  grew  deeper  and 
more  harrowing.  ''  Oh,  when  I  look  back 
at  my  ungodly  life,"  he  cried,  "I  see  nothing 
before  me  but  hell.  Oh,  my  sins  deserve  hell, 
the  hottest  place  in  it !  Oh,  what  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved !" 

By  Ihis  time  the  missionary,  in  the  depth  of 
his  concern  for  the  poor  man,  had  lain  down 
beside  him  on  the  straw,  beseeching  him  to  be 
reconciled  to  God.  When  he  rose  to  go  away, 
the  man  clung  to  him  with  a  convulsive 
energy.  At  last,  after  again  praying,  he  left 
the  house,  accompanied  by  the  two  young  men 


HEAVENLY  ASPIRATIONS.  239 

wlio  had  come  for  him.  He  went  back  early 
next  morning  to  see  Mm,  but  lie  was  gone — he 
had  died  about  ten  minutes  after  thej  parted 
during  the  night.  It  was  on  10th  September, 
1849. 

Not  long  afterwards  Mr.  Paterson  himself 
was  seized  with  the  terrific  malady.  Contrary 
to  all  expectation,  he  was  raised  up.  But  the 
attack  so  weakened  him,  that  he  never  was 
able  to  engage  in  his  duties  with  the  same 
vigor. 

Enfeebled  in  body,  he  seemed  to  grow  daily 
in  grace.  Now,  more  than  ever,  he  lived 
in  the  world  as  not  of  it.  There  was  a 
marked  change  in  his  whole  deportment,  and 
especially  in  his  prayers.  He  used  frequently 
to  say  that  he  would  soon  be  withdrawn  from 
this  earthly  scene.  "  One  could  scarcely  de- 
scribe," says  a  friend  who  often  saw  him,  "the 
heavenly  spirit  which  breathed  in  all  he  said 
and  did." 

"  Oh,  how  much,"  we  find  him  writing  in 
one  of  his  latest  letters,  "  our  bodies  hinder  the 


240         THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

ascent  of  tlie  soul  heavenward!  how  often 
drowsiness  overcomes  our  evening  communion 
with  our  God,  the  weakness  of  the  flesh  over- 
powering the  willingness  of  the  spirit!  Oh, 
what  a  matter  to  be  instant  in  season  vind 
out  of  season  in  the  mortification  of  the  flesh  I 
Let  us  be  earnestly  seeking  for  a  heart  delight- 
ing in  heavenly  things.  I  am  sure  the  more 
the  flesh  is  denied  for  the  service  of  God, 
the  more  we  shall  be  raised  above  the  world 
and  the  things  of  time.  But  as  long  as  we  are 
in  the  body,  we  shall  have  to  complain  and 
mourn  that  our  souls  cleave  unto  the  dust. 
Oh,  for  more  self-denial.  Oh,  how  much  more 
fervent  would  be  our  prayers — ^how  much 
more  fruitful  in  blessings,  were  they  enlivened 
with  more  abundant  delight  in  the  blessed 
work  of  praise !  Oh  that  the  subject  of  the 
heavenly  song  may  more  and  more  engage  our 
hearts  on  earth, — Jesus  and  EGs  love — ^the 
worthiness  of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain — His 
power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength, 
and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing  1" 


HEAVENLY  ASPIRATIONS.  241 

And  in  another  letter  : — •"  I  have  again  been 
in  the  school  of  discipline.  After  my  meeting 
I  felt  a  severe  pain  near  my  heart — I  thought 
it  was  death.  The  doctor  was  sent  for ;  he 
was  twice  at  me  every  day  for  ten  days.  I  was 
left  very  weak  by  the  great  discharge  of 
blood.  But,  thanks  be  to  my  God,  He  kept 
my  mind  in  perfect  peace ;  His  Word  was  my 
comfort  in  my  affliction.  Oh,  how  sweet  is 
His  Word !  It  is  the  only  warrant  for  a  poor 
sinner  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
And  He  is  the  great  object  of  our  faith.  He 
says,  '  Look  unto  me,'  '  Behold  me.' — Oh,  what 
a  blessing,"  he  adds,  "  is  sanctified  affliction ! 
By  it  we  are  kept  from  departing  from  our 
Father.  How  soon  would  we  depart  from 
Him!  There  is  so  much  sin  and  corruption 
within  these  hearts — at  least  mine,  so  much  of 
self,  and  so  apt  are  we  to  get  into  conformity 
to  the  world,  that  if  we  were  not  brought 
under  the  rod,  we  should  in  a  little  not  know 
ourselves.  Woe  be  to  that  person  to  whom 
He  ceases  to  be  a  reprover!" 

21 


242         THE   MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY. 

Meanwhile  Eobert  Edie  was  on  his  farm,  en- 
joying robust  health.  That  he  was  not  walk- 
ing with  nngirded  loins,  we  may  gather  from 
some  incidental  indications  of  his  inner  life, 
left  behind  him  amongst  his  papers.  The  first 
is  a  paper  hung  up  in  his  large  writing- 
desk,  where  he  kept  his  money  and  papers,  and 
which  he  nsed  every  day.  It  was  so  placed  as 
to  meet  his  eye  every  time  he  opened  the  desk : — 

"  Let  my  refuge,  like  that  of  the  psalmist, 
ever  be  in  God ;  nor  let  the  most  adverse  and 
menacing  events  ever  dispossess  me  of  my  con- 
fidence. 

"  Fear  thou  not,  for  I  am  with  thee.  Be  not 
dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  Grod.  I  will  strengthen 
thee,  yea,  I  will  uphold  thee  with  the  right 
hand,  of  my  righteousness." 

TJie  next  is  in  the  shape  of  two  brief  prayers 
or  nieditations : — 

"  0  my  God,  heljJ  me,  for  I  trust  in  Thee, 
and  not  in  an  arm  of  flesh.  Give  me  grace 
that  I  may  wait  upon  the  Lord.  '  Thanks  be 
unto  God  for  His  unspeakable  gift.'  " 


ROBEET  EDIE — LAST  DAYS.  243 

"  0  my  God  and  Saviour,  remember  me,  re- 
member me  now  in  Thy  infinite  mercy  and 
love.  0  let  me  not  wander  any  more  from 
Thee.  Apprehend  me  and  bless  me  greatly. 
My  glorious  Eedeemer,  I  am  Thine.  I  am 
dead ;  •  cause  me  to  live  to  Thy  glory.  Bless, 
0  bless  the  dear  family." 

The  last  is  dated  "Kankeilour,  Tuesday 
Evening,  November  19,  1850  :"— 

"  My  God,  make  Thy  grace  suf&cient  for  me. 
Oh,  for  Christ's  sake,  befriend  me  at  this  time. 
Let  me  not  sin  against  Thee.  Give  me  the 
spirit  of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound 
mind.  Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord  and  my  God, 
bless  me  indeed.  Oh  that  Thou  wert  ever  and 
now  present  to  the  eye  of  my  faith !  My 
Father,  be  gracious  unto  me,  and  give  me  the 
blessedness  of  knowing  that  I  am  Thine.  Let 
not  this  precious  time  be  lost.  I  have  seen  and 
heard  much  this  day  to  make  me  consider 
seriously  my  state.  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  be 
merciful  to  me,  and  enable  me  now  and  hence 
forth   to  live  for   Thee   and  to   Thy   glory. 


244         THE  MISSIONAEY  OF  KILMANY. 

I  believe,  help  mine  unbelief.  Oh  that  the 
sudden  death  I  heard  of,  made  me  think  of  my 
own  death  and  be  incessant  in  preparation  for 
it.  The  Lord  bless  him  whose  guest  I  am; 
make  him  indeed  Thine,  altogether  Thine.  Ke- 
member  the  dear  family  at  home." 

Another  "  sudden  death"  ere  long  startled 
him.  It  was  the  friend  under  whose  roof  that 
"  Meditation"  had  been  penned.  "  I  have  felt 
deeply,"  we  find  him  writing,  on  9th  August, 
1851,  to  his  son,  "the  departure  of  Mr. 
Crichton.  He  was  my  constant  friend  for  the 
last  twenty  years.  What  a  world  of  change ! 
Let  us  seek  a  city  which  hath  foundations." 

The  "  city  which  hath  foundations"  he  him- 
self soon  reached.  "I  was  with  your  dear 
father  last  night,  at  a  prayer-meeting  at  Bum- 
side,"  wrote  Dr.  C ,  to  Mr.  Edie's  son,  in  a 

letter  dated  Elliothead,  13th  August,  1851, 
half-past  three,  A.  M.,  "  and,  after  concluding 
the  last  prayer,  he  suddenly  fainted,  and  not- 
withstanding all  we  could  do,  he  died  in  about 
ten  minutes  without  a  struggle.    It  is  very 


"THE  TRANSLATION"."  245 

comforting  that  our  dear  friend  was  called 
away  while  employed  in  his  Master's  service. 
Oh,  that  we  may  be  all  followers  of  those  who, 
through  faith  and  patience,  are  now  inheriting 
the  promises."* 

The  stroke,  it  may  well  be  supposed,  was 
felt  keenly  by  Mr.  Paterson.  "  Truly  it  was  a 
shock  to  me,"  he  wrote  on  18th  August,  "  the 
death  of  my  dear  brother,  Kobert  Edie.  In- 
deed, I  have  hardly  been  fit  for  thinking  upon 
anything  ever  since.  We  were  brothers,  in  the 
real  sense  of  the  word.  We  always  were  of 
one  heart  and  of  one  mind.  Oh !  he  did  enjoy 
communion  with  his  God,  and  with  his  dear 
Saviour,  as  he  called  him.f    He  has  got  be- 


*  See  Appendix. 

f  His  daily  walk  with  God  is  indicated  by  another  scrap 
found  among  his  papers: — "July  2,  1850. — General  Rules 
framed  by  R.  Edie,  for  his  guidance  in  the  great  duty  of 
rightly  spending  his  time,  which  he  humbly  hopes  God.  in 
His  great  mercy  and  tender  compassion,  will  graciously 
enable  him  to  attend  to  when  at  home  and  in  health. 

"  I.  During  the  months  of  April,  May,  June,  July,  August 
and  September,  to  rise  at  or  before  half-past  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning — to  spend,  if  possible,  and  though  with  occa- 

21* 


246         THE  MISSIONAKY  OF  KILMANY. 

yond  me  now — notliing  to  mar  his  communion 
above.  He  was  a  dear  brother  in  Christ  to 
me  I  Oh,  the  grace  of  our  God,  that  took 
possession  of  our  hearts  forty  years  ago  !  At 
the  same  time  we  were  '  born  again ;'  we  set 
out  together  for  heaven ;  but  he  has  got  the 
crown  before  me.  I  was  always  behind ;  I  was 
always  a  dull  scholar:  he  was  faithful,  but 
I  loitered  by  the  way.  You  and  I  are  left  be- 
hind in  this  weary  wilderness.  It  will  be  our 
turn  next.    Let  us  be  walking  very  near  to 


sional  interruption,  about  an  hour  in  reading,  meditation, 
and  secret  prayer,  and  to  have  family  worship  at  or  before 
seven.  After  breakfast,  to  attend  to  the  affairs  of  the  farm 
and  other  duties,  and  to  secure,  if  practicable,  a  short  time 
for  retirement  before  dinner — say  betwixt  twelve  and  one 
o'clock.  During  the  day,  and  when  engaged  in  necessary 
business,  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  watchfulness  and  prayer, 
and  the  keeping  of  the  heart  with  all  diligence.  Both  be- 
fore and  after  the  evening  family  devotions,  endeavor  to  be 
alone  with  God  for  a  shorter  or  longer  period,  as  circmn- 
etanees  permit. 

"  II.  During  the  mornings  of  October  and  November,  to 
rise  at  six — December  and  January,  at  seven — February  and 
March  at  six — family  worship  perhaps  a  little  later  during 
those  periods.  The  other  observances  under  the  first  head 
to  be  continued  throughout  the  time  iucluded  in  the  present." 


"THIS  IS  DEATH."  247 

God,  as  our  dear  departed  brother  walked. 
And  as  God  has  taken  him,  so  may  our  God 
take  us  to  Himself!" 

Like  his  departed  brother,  Alexander  Pater- 
son  labored  and  endured  to  the  end,  without 
fainting.  "  I  went  out  at  ten,  to-day,"  says  he, 
writing  to  his  son,  on  11th  October,  1851, 
"and  came  in  at  half-past  four;  almost  every 
day  it  is  that  hour  before  I  get  home ;  and 
often  I  am  not  in  till  nine  o'clock  at  night. 
You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  my  meetings  are 
very  full,  so  much  so,  that  some  nights  the 
people  cannot  get  room ;  and  some  are  under 
concern  of  soul,  while  others  have  been 
enabled  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  as  their 
Saviour." 

In  the  middle  of  December,  whilst  visit- 
ing, in  a  wretched  hovel,  a  case  of  malignant 
typhus,  he  caught  the  disease  by  which  he  was 
to  be  taken  to  his  heavenly  home. 

When  he  first  lay  down,  he  said  to  his  wife, 
"  This  is  death ;  if  I  should  be  delirious  and  be 
led  to  say  anything  which  might  make  you 


248  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  KILMANY, 

doubt  about  my  state,  never  mind;  it's  all 
settled  witb  me  long  ago ;  I  know  whom  I  have 
believed." 

After  arranging  a  few  matters,  he  said  with 
admirable  sweetness,  *'  I  am  not  tired  of  hfe ;  I 
have  enjoyed  life  more  than  most  men ;  I 
liked  my  work,  and  I  liked  my  home.  But 
the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done." 

His  sufferings  were  most  acute.  But  not  the 
slightest  symptom  of  impatience  was  ob- 
served. Once  and  again,  in  a  low  whisper, 
such  expressions  as  these  were  uttered  :• — "  Oh, 
Lord !  I  am  oppressed ;  undertake  for  me." 
"  Perfect  peace  !"  ''  Oh,  death  !  where  is  thy 
sting  ?"  "  "Who  shall  deliver  me  ?"  "  Thanks 
be  unto  God  who  giveth  me  the  victory, 
through  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

He  expired  on  29th  December,  1851. 

"  Live,"  said  the  late  Mr.  M'Cheyne,  "  so  as 
to  be  missed  when  you  die."  In  the  district, 
the  tidings  of  the  death  of  their  beloved  mis- 
sionary fell  upon  the  families  as  if  it  had  been 
the  death  of  a  father.     At  his  funeral  many  of 


HIS  EPITAPH.  249 

the  poor  people  were  seen  weeping  like  cliil 
dren. 

"  I  shall  monrn  for  him  while  I  live,"  said 
one  of  them,  an  elderly  female,  who  had  been 
brought  to  the  Lord  under  his  ministrations. 

"His  very  dust  is  dear  to  me,"  sobbed 
another,  as  the  body  was  borne  away. 

" He  was  a  father  to  me,"  said  a  third ;  "for 
sixteen  years  I  told  him  all  that  troubled  me. 
I've  had  many,  many  trials ;  and  in  them  all 
he  counselled  me  and  cared  for  me  like  a 
parent." 

And  this  was  no  mere  momentary  regret. 
Six  months  afterwards  we  visited  the  district ; 
in  family  after  family,  no  sooner  was  the  name 
"  Mr.  Paterson"  pronounced,  than  the  tear 
started  into  the  eye,  as  if  the  bereavement  had 
occurred  but  yesterday. 

The  missionary's  epitaph  was  already  writ- 
ten. "  Though  ye  have  ten  thousand  instruc- 
tors in  Christ,"  the  whole  scene  seemed  to  say 
to  TiSy  "  yet  have  ye  not  many  fathers." 


APPENDIX. 

In  an  address  to  the  Free  Cli-urcli  Congre- 
gation at  Dunbarnie,  by  Mr.  Edie's  pastor,  the 
Kev.  Alexander  Gumming,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing:— 

"  The  breach  which  God  has  made  among 
us  as  a  Session,  is  felt  by  us  as  an  awakening 
Providence,  and  we  feel  stimulated  by  the  sud- 
den departure  of  our  dear  brother,  to  address 
you  on  the  dealings  of  God  with  us,  and 
to  beg  you  to  mark  with  us  the  lessons  which 
the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  has  been  read- 
ing to  us.  Our  beloved  brother,  Mr.  Edie, 
was  brought  to  Christ  under  the  ministry 
of  Dr.  Chalmers  in  Kilmany,  about  thirty -five 
years  ago,  and  the  reality  of  the  saving  change 
wrought  in  him,  was  attested  by  a  long  and 
heavenly  course.  You  saw  in  him  great 
natural  suavity,  and  benevolence  of  manner, 
sweetened  by  the  infusion  of  vital  Christianity : 


APPENDIX.  251 

you  noticed  his  look  of  love,  and  heard  Ms 
tones  of  kind  inquiry,  as  lie  stood  at  the  plate 
from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  and  asked  you 
of  your  well-being  and  that  of  your  friends. 
You  knew  him  to  be  the  cheerful  as  well 
as  elevated  Christian.  You  have  met  him  in 
the  tumult  and  negotiations  of  the  market- 
place, and  witnessed  the  great  meekness  and 
straight-forward  integrity  with  which  he  trans- 
acted his  business.  Your  spiritual  interests 
lay  near  to  his  heart;  he  delighted  to  walk 
every  Saturday  evening  to  the  prayer-meeting 
which  the  Session  have  observed  during  the 
last  eleven  years,  that  he  might  wrestle  with  in- 
tense importunity  for  your  salvation.  "When, 
in  spite  of  this  persevering  earnestness  he  dis- 
covered few  symptoms  of  conversion  among 
you,  he  would  say,  '  What  can  it  be  that 
is  hindering  the  success  of  our  prayers  ?'  Still 
he  was  not  damped  in  his  praying  energy  ;  but 
summer  and  winter,  in  stormy  or  serene 
weather,  he  would  toil  on  to  the  place  '  where 
prayer  was  wont  to  be  made ;'  and  on  one  night 
of  dense  darkness,  he  was  in  the  act  of  falling 
over  the  high  and  steep  embankment,  past 
which  the  footpath  from  his  abode  to  our 
"lage    goes,   when    he    providently   caught 


252  APPENDIX. 

the  vegetation  growing  at  the  side  of  it  and  re- 
covered himself.  Oh,  if  you  had  seconded  his 
sujDjDlications,  and  prayed  for  yourselves  as  he 
prayed  for  you,  what  blessed  results  would 
have  followed ! 

"  All  of  you,  dear  brethren,  know  what  it  is 
to  repeat  a  prayer;  but  how  many  of  you 
know  what  access  to  God,  or  communion  with 
Him  is?  Our  departed  brother  knew  what 
ordinary,  and  what  extraordinary  fellowship 
with  Him  is.  Shortly  before  his  death,  he 
mentioned  to  us,  that  when  residing  in  Cupar 
in  the  year  1839,  the  memorable  year  when 
God  was  shedding  down  His  Spirit  on  some 
favored  localities  in  the  land,  he  was  lying 
awake  on  the  couch  of  repose,  about  three  ^ 
o'clock  on  a  Sabbath  morning  in  the  summer, 
when  he  w^as  meditating  on  the  21st  chapter  of 
John,  where  Christ's  appearance  to  the  disci- 
ples at  the  sea  of  Tiberias  is  recorded.  The 
words  recurred  to  his  memory,  in  which  John, 
convinced  by  the  unexpected  capture  of  the 
fishes  that  Jesus  was  present,  said,  '  It  is  the 
Lord !'  and  as  these  words  of  affectionate  recog- 
nition passed  through  his  mind,  a  sudden  and 
awful,  but  delightful,  sense  of  the  Saviour's 
presence  rushed  upon  his  soul.     He  felt  as  if  he 


APPENDIX.  253 

saw  Him  wlio  is  invisible;  a  stunning,  but 
sublime,  consciousness  of  His  nearness  filled 
every  faculty  of  liis  mind ;  lie  started  up  from 
Ms  bed,  and  poured  forth  bis  heart  in  adora- 
tion, wonder,  and  supplication  before  bis  Mas- 
ter ;  hour  after  hour  glided  on,  and  still  be  felt 
as  if  Jesus  was  as  really  before  bim  as  wben 
He  stood  in  the  midst  of  tbe  upper  room 
on  tbe  day  of  His  resurrection,  and  said, 
*  Peace  be  unto  you ;'  and  be  went  on  venting 
bis  ardent  emotions  in  one  continuous  stream 
of  gratitude  and  devoted  affection.  And  now 
be  is  witb  Him  'wbom  having  not  seen  he 
loved,'  and  the  noble  exercises  of  that  eventful 
morning  are  to  be  prolonged  to  all  eternity. 
You  have  seen  bim  on  the  communion  Sab- 
bath, when  his  whole  aspect  was  pervaded 
with  holy  awe  and  love  to  his  Master,  and 
yearnings  over  you.  How  will  you  meet  him, 
if  you  received,  in  hypocritical  formality,  the 
bread  and  wine  at  a  table  round  which  his 
venerable  form  was  so  often  seen  passing  while 
be  was  watching  and  inwardly  pleading  for 
the  whole  worshipping  assembly?" 

22 


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